
Class TT \ <oC) 
Book .LVl. 



Gop>TighxN°- 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



The Child's Rainy Day Book 



Other Books by Mary White 



HOW TO MAKE POTTERY 

HOW TO DO BEADWORK 

HOW TO MAKE BASKETS 

MORE BASKETS AND HOW TO MAKE THEM 




Building a piece of pottery with coils of clay — as the Indians do 



THE CHILD'S 

RAINY DAY BOOK 



BY 

MARY WHITE 



ILLUSTRATED BY 
THE AUTHOR 




NEW YORK 

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 

1905 



«uv :i r^y^ j 



1 '-v.o <:?_ ^."'i 'T,| 



I. 



/s^jrjT^ I .^{\SX 



Copyright, 1905, by 

Doubleday, Page & Company 

Published, October, 1905 



j^II rights reserved^ 

including that of translation into foreign languaget 

including the Scandinavian. 



5-3^0^^ 



To My Sister 

Stnna m^iit ^^ttman 

AND HER CHILDREN 

Eocer, I^etbert, Clijabetl), Eoijamonti anli anna 



CONTENTS 



I. A Foreword to Mothers . 

II. Simple Home-Made Toys and Games 

III. Basket Weaving 

IV. Knots with Raffia and Cord . 
V. What a Child Can Do with Beads 

VI. Clay Working 

VII. Indoor Gardening 

VIII. Gifts and How to Make Them 

IX. Paper Flowers AND Toys . 

X. Games for Two or Three to Play 



I 

5 
35 

53 

73 

103 

125 
143 
173 
201 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Building a Piece of Pottery with Coils of Clay — as ^ 

the Indians do .... Frontispiece 

FACING PACK 

Playing the Bean Bag Game ..... 8 

Planning a Book House ...... 12 

Basket Weaving ....... 42 

Knots with Raffia and Cord: 

I. The beginning of a ping pong net. 2. A Turk's- 
head knot. 3. Raffia work bag. 4. Doll's ham- 
mock. 5. A rattan napkin ring ... 68 
A Little Garden for a Little Girl . . . .136 

Making a Chrysanthemum ..... 198 

A Ball-and-Fan Race 208 



LIST OF FIGURES 



FIGURE 
I 

Rattan Rin^ 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 
8 

9 

10 

II 

12 A 

I2B 
I2C 
13 
14 

15 
16 

17 
18 

19 

20 
21 

22 



PAGE 
9 

9 

14 
15 
17 
19 

20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
26 
29 
29 
30 
30 
31 
38 

39 
40 

41 
43 
49 
55 
56 



xu 



List of Figures 



FIGURE 

23 

24 

25 
26 

27 
28 

29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
36 
37 
38 
38 A 

39 
40 

41 
42 
43 
44 
45 
46 

47 
48 

49 
50 
51 
52 
53 



List of Figures 



Xlll 



FIGURE 

54 
55 
56 
57 
58 

59 
60 

61 
62 
63 
64 

65 
66 

67 
68 
69 
70 

71 

72 

73 
74 
75 
76 

77 

78 

79 

Leathe 

80 

81 

82 

83 

84 



Tag 



Case 



PAGE 

97 

99 
100 

107 
108 
109 
no 
no 
III 
112 
116 
117 
119 
132 

138 
148 
148 
149 
151 
151 
156 
158 
160 
162 
163 
166 
169 
171 
171 

175 
176 



XIV 
FIGURE 

86 

87 
88 

89 
90 

91 

92 

93 
94 
95 
96 

97 
98 

99 
100 

lOI 

102 
103 
104 



List of Figures 



PAGE 
180 
181 
182 

183 
184 

185 

187 
188 
188 
189 
191 
192 
193 
193 
194 

195 
195 
198 
206 
213 



A Foreword to Mothers 



CHILD'S RAINY DAY BOOK 

CHAPTER I 

A FOREWORD TO MOTHERS 

How shall we answer the ever recurring rainy 
day question, "What shall I do?" We hear it 
wherever children are kept indoors — fnom what- 
ever cause. All of us are concerned with the 
answer — mothers, fathers, teachers, big brothers 
and sisters — even maiden aunts. We all know 
what is coming when Jack turns from the rain- 
splashed window with a listless face and Dorothy, 
none too gently, thrusts her favourite doll into 
the corner with its face to the wall. 

One might suppose that, with the hosts of me- 
chanical toys, of costly French dolls, each with a 
wardrobe as much in keeping with fashion as that 
of a society woman, the small sons and daughters 
would be content for a year of rainy days. 
But that proves how little one knows about 
it. Such toys are too perfect, too com- 



4 Child's Rainy Day Book 

plete, and very soon they are pushed into the 
background. 

The boy's real treasures are the willow whistle 
that Uncle Tom taught him to make last summer, 
the boat that he is building and the game he 
invented — a favourite one with all the children. 
Bedtime and getting-up time for the French doll 
may come and go, while she lies forgotten in the 
corner, for is there not a dress to be made for the 
clothespin doll? 

We need only to look back about twenty years 
to realise how natural all this is. What do we 
remember? Not the toys that were brought us 
when father and mother went on a journey. They 
are very hazy — these visions of a doll in silk and 
lace, and a donkey with real hair and a nodding 
head. What became of them afterward? We 
forget. But the games we "made up," the paper 
dolls we cut from fashion papers, the target we 
laboured to make of coiled straw — these are as 
fresh in our memories as if we had played with them 
yesterday. 

Shall we not answer the question by giving the 
children something to do, not by entertaining 
them but by helping them to entertain them- 
selves. 



Simple Home Made Toys and 
Games 



CHAPTER II 

SIMPLE HOME MADE TOYS AND GAMES 

A Bean Bag Game 

Materials Required : i yard each of blue, red, yellow and 
green gingham, 
3 quarts of small white beans, 
A length of No. 6 rattan, 
A bunch of red raffia, 
A tapestry needle, 
3 screw eyes, 
2 J yards of strong twine, 
A spool of No. 40 white cotton, 
A needle, 
Scissors. 

Very many good games can be played with 
bean bags. The following is a simple one to 
prepare. 

Cut from blue gingham three pieces, each five 
inches wide by twelve long. Other pieces of the 
same size are cut from red, yellow and green 
gingham — three of each colour. These pieces 
are made up into bags by doubling them and stitch- 



8 Child's Rainy Day Book 

ing up the sides with strong thread; leaving one 
end of each open. This will give a small girl some- 
thing to do for more than one rainy day. 

When they have all been stitched, fill each 
bag half full of small, white beans, turn in the 
edges of the open end and sew it up, over and 
over, with strong thread. Be very careful to 
sew the seams securely, for if you do you will have 
a good, durable bag instead of one from which 
the beans are always dropping. 

The other part of the game is a large ring of 
rattan ten inches across, which is made as follows: 

Soak a piece of No. 6 rattan in water for a few 
minutes. While you are waiting for it to get 
pliable thread a tapestry or darning needle 
with red raffia. Whittle an end of the rattan 
into a long point. Next coil the rattan into a 
ring, ten inches across ; lay the end of your raffia, 
with its tip turned to the right, on the rattan ring 
and bring the needle, threaded with raffia, around 
and over the ring. The raffia is then brought 
under the long end of rattan, around it and down 
under the ring, binding the second coil of rattan 
to the first with what is called a "Figure Eight" 
stitch (see Fig. i). Hold the ring firmly in your 
left hand while you sew with the right. First 




Playing the bean-bag game 




Simple Home Made Toys and Games 9 

under and around the lower coil, then up, under 
and around the upper one. It is pretty work, 

besides making such 
a firm, light ring. 

When you have 
bound the second 
coil to the first 
almost all the way 
round the ring, cut 
the rattan so that it 
Fig. I -^ill overlap the be- 

ginning of the ring 
about an inch, and whittle it to a long, flat 
point. Continue the Figure Eight stitch as far as 
you can, then bind 
the raffia round and 
round the ring, and 
sew back and forth 
through the raffia 
covering till it is se- 
cure. You can then 
cut it close to the ring. 
Fasten a screw eye 
at the top of the ^^'^'^^^ ^^^^ 

frame of the playroom door and one on 
each side of the doorway, on the edge 




lo Child's Rainy Day Book 

of the frame, four feet and a half from the 
floor. 

Tie a piecfe of strong twine, about a yard long, 
at the top of the ring and another, three-quarters 
of a yard, on each side. Fasten the upper string to 
the screw eye above the doorway so that the ring 
will hang with its lower edge about four feet from 
the floor. Tie the other strings through the screw 
eyes to right and left of the doorway. The game 
is now complete. From two to four children can 
play it. Each has three bean bags of one colour 
and takes his turn at throwing them through 
the ring, standing on a mark eight feet from the 
doorway. One player keeps the score, and when- 
ever a bean bag is sent through the ring the child who 
threw it is credited with five points. The one who 
first succeeds in making fifty points is the winner. 

A Book House for Paper Dolls 

Materials Required : A large blank book with a stiff cover, 
and preferably with unruled pages, 

A number of old magazines. 

Some pieces of wall paper the size 
of the book's pages, 

Several pieces of lace or other fancy 
paper, 

A tube of paste. 

Scissors. 



Simple Home Made Toys and Games ii 

Any little girl who is looking for a home for a 
family of paper dolls will find a book the very 
best kind of a house for them. And then such 
fun as it will be to furnish it! First comes the 
house hunting. A large new blank book with 
unruled pages would be best of all, and that is 
what we want if we can get it, but of course all 
doll families cannot live in such luxury. An old 
account book with most of its pages unused will 
make an excellent house. I have even known a 
family of dolls to be cheerful and happy in an old 
city directory. 

It will be easy to find furniture in the advertising 
pages of magazines, rugs can be cut from pictures 
in the same magazines and bits of wall paper are 
used for the walls of the book house. Tissue paper 
of different colours and papers with a lace edge 
make charming window curtains, while thicker 
fancy papers may be used for portieres. On the 
cover of the book a picture of the house, or just 
the doorway, may be pasted. The first two pages 
are of course the hall. For this you will need a 
broad staircase, hall seat, hardwood floor and rugs, 
with perhaps an open fireplace or a cushioned 
window seat to make it look hospitable. Try to 
find furniture all about the same size, or if you 



t2 Child's Rainy Day Book 

cannot do this put the smaller pieces at the back 
of the room and the larger ones toward the front. 

Next there will be the drawing room to furnish, 
then the library, the dining room and pantry, 
not forgetting the kitchen and laundry. Use 
two pages for each room, leaving several between 
the different rooms, so that the book shall not be 
too full at the front and empty at the back. If it 
does not close easily remove some of the blank 
pages. Cut out the different pieces of furniture as 
carefully as possible, paste them in as neatly as you 
can, and you will have a book house to be proud of. 

Flowered papers will be the best for the bed- 
rooms, or plain wall papers in light colours; and 
with brass bedsteads, pretty little dressing tables 
and curtains made of thin white tissue paper 
(which looks so like white muslin), they will be 
as dainty as can be. Now and then through 
the book it is interesting to have a page with 
just a bay window and a broad window seat with 
cushions and pillows — as if it were a part of a long 
hall. Hang curtains of coloured or figured paper 
in front of it so that they will have to be lifted 
if anyone wants to peep in. When you have 
finished the bathroom, playroom, maids' rooms 
and attic there will still be the piazza, the garden, 




Planning a book house 



Simple Home Made Toys and Games 13 

the stables and the golf course (covering several 
pages), to arrange. If you have a paint box and 
can colour tastefully you will be able to make your 
book house even more attractive than it is already. 

United States Mail 

Materials Required : A pasteboard box, about 3 by 6 
inches, 
Some old white pasteboard boxes 

with a glossy finish, 
A box of paints, 
3 unused postal cards, 
A tube of paste, 
Pen and ink. 
Scissors. 

This is a fine game for rainy days. Any boy 
can make it and if he likes to use pencil 
and paint brush he will find it as interesting 
to make as to play with. Get a small paste- 
board box about six inches long by three 
wide and an inch deep — such as spools of 
cotton come in. Cover it with white paper, 
pasting it neatly and securely. Then draw 
and colour on the lid a mail bag, which 
should almost cover it — either a brown leather 
sack or a white canvas one with "United 
States Mail" on it in large blue letters. Do not 



14 



Child's Rainy Day Book 




forget to draw the holes at the top of the 
bag and the rope which passes through 
them to close it. You have now something 

to hold the counters 
for the game. These 
are made to look 
like letters and postal 
cards. To make the 
Pj^ 2 letters, rule a set of 

lines three-quarters 
of an inch apart, across a box or cover of 
shiny white cardboard. Then another set, 
crossing the others at right angles. These 
should be an inch and a quarter apart. The postal 
cards are ruled in the same way (on real, unused 
postal cards), so as to make oblong spaces. Cut 
these out with a sharp pair of scissors. There 
should be thirty cardboard pieces and at least 
twenty-five of the postal cards. Now draw on 
the cards, with a fine pen and black ink, marks like 
those on a postal card — the stamp in the corner, 
the lettering and the address. Make pen lines on 
all of the pasteboard letters like Fig. 2 and paint 
a tiny red dot on each to look like sealing-wax. 
On the reverse side of one write something to look 
like an address, and paint in large letters " D.L.O.," 



Simple Home Made Toys and Games 15 

(to stand for Dead Letter Office) in the corner. 
Six other letters are also addressed in the same 
way, but have instead of "D.L.O." a red 
stamp and a blue one, the latter wider 
than it is high, to represent a Special Delivery- 
stamp. Nine pieces should also be cut from 
brown cardboard in the shape shown in Fig. 
3 to represent packages. Paint three red 
stamps in the corner of each of these. 

Rules for Playing United States Mail 



Two or more persons can play this game. When 
the pieces are equally divided among the players, 
the one on the right 
of the dealer throws 
a piece on the table, 
saying as he does 
so, "I send a letter 
to B ," for ex- 
ample, and then 
counts five, not run- 
ning the numbers in 
together, but as deliberately as a clock ticks. 
Before he has stopped counting, the player on 
his right must name a city or town beginning 




Fig. 3 



i6 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



with B. If he succeeds in doing this he 
wins the piece, otherwise it goes to the player 
who threw it. When all the pieces have been 
played each player counts his score. 

The value of the pieces is as follows: Each 
postal card counts one, each letter two, each 
package six. The Special Delivery letters are 
worth ten points each, and the person who 
is so unfortunate as to have the letter with 
"D.L.O." upon it loses ten points from his 
score. 

Flying Rings 



Materials Required : 



A flour-barrel top, 

f yard of yellow cheesecloth, 

5 large wire nails, 

3 lengths of No. 4 rattan. 

A bunch of red raffia, 

A bunch of green raffia, 

A bunch of yellow raffia, 

A tapestry needle. 

Some small tacks, 

A hammer, 

A tube of glue, 

A sheet of note paper. 



Boys and girls will enjoy this game, and both 
can help in making it. The materials are simple 
and easily obtained, which is also an advantage. 
First of all we shall need a flour-barrel top. This 



Simple Home Made Toys and Gam£S 17 



should be covered with yellow cheesecloth drawn 
smooth and tight and tacked in place along the 
outer edge. Measure with a rule to find the exact 
centre and make a pencil mark on the cheesecloth 
at that point. Another mark is made above this 
one, half way between it and the edge. A third 
mark is placed at the 
right of the middle 
one and half way 
between it and the 
edge, as well as one 
to the left and one 
below it at the same 
distance from the 
centre. A large nail 
is driven into the 
barrel top at each of 

the five marks (see Fig. 4). Two screw eyes 
are then put in at the top, about a foot apart, 
so that it can be easily hung. Next draw 
on note paper that is not too stiff the figures 5, 10, 
15, 25 and 50. Make them about an inch high 
and quite thick and go over them with ink. 
With a small pair of scissors cut out these 
numbers and paste each under a nail, as shown 
in Fig. 4. 




Fig. 4 



1 8 Child's Rainy Day Book 

Next there are the rings to be made. Fol- 
low the directions given on pages 6 and 
7, using No. 4 rattan instead of No. 6, 
and these rings should only be two and 
a half inches across. Make three ring5 of 
each colour, green, red and yellow, and the 
game is complete. 

To Play It: 

Hang the barrel top on the wall or against a screen 
and see who can throw the most rings on the nails 
standing six feet away. Each player has three 
rings of a different colour, and each in turn 
throws his rings at the mark. When he suc- 
ceeds in tossing a ring on one of the nails he 
scores as many points as the number under the 
nail indicates. 

How to Make a Cork Castle 



Materials Required : A number of old corks, the larger' 
the better, 
A tube of glue, 
A penknife, 

A piece of pasteboard a foot square, 
A sheet of dull green tissue paper. 



Simple Home Made Toys and Games 19 

Such fascinating castles can be made from old 
corks — or if you live near a cork factory you can 
get plenty of odds and ends of cork bark that will 
be even better for the purpose. With a penknife 
cut small bricks, half an inch long by quarter of an 
inch wide and an eighth of an inch thick. If you 
are planning a round tower, such as is shown in 




Fig. 5 

Fig. 5, make the bricks in the wedge shape 
shown in Fig. 6. Cut them as nearly alike 
as possible, but it will do no harm if 
they are not perfectly regular; the castle 
will only look more ancient and interesting. It 
is wonderful how much the bits of cork look 
like stone. 



20 



Child's Rainy Day Book 




Fig 6 



When you have a good supply of bricks ready you 
may begin to build. Use glue to stick the blocks 
together; the kind that comes in a tube is the 
easiest and cleanest to handle. Leave spaces for 

doors and windows, 
and for the roof use 
a large fiat cork 
from a preserve jar. 
Mark it off into 
battlements such as 
are shown in Fig. 5, 
and cut them out carefully. Then glue the 
roof securely on the walls of the castle. 

Where shall we place it now that it is 
made? A green mountain side is a good lo- 
cation for a castle, and it can be made 
quite easily. Bend a piece of pasteboard 
about a foot square (an old box cover will 
do) into dents that will almost break it, these 
look quite like hills and valleys and sharp crags, 
especially when they have been covered with green 
tissue paper. To do this spread a layer of paste 
or glue all over the pasteboard and then press 
the paper upon it. If it wrinkles, so much the 
better, for it will look more like grass and grow- 
ing things. 



Simple Home Made Toys and Games 21 
A Doll's Shaker Bonnet 

Materials Required t A piece of fine straw about 4x6 

inches. 
Some scraps of plain-coloured china 

silk, 
§ yard of straw-coloured ribbon, J of 

an inch wide> 
I yard of narrow ribbon the colour of 

the china silk, 
A spool of straw-coloured sewing 

silk. 

The daintiest little Shaker bonnet may be easily 
made by a little girl to fit one of her dolls. From 
the brim of an old leghorn, or other fine straw hat, 
cut two pieces, the shapes shown in Figs. 7 and 8. 
For a doll six or eight inches long the front piece 
will need to be about five inches long by an inch 



Fig. 7 

and a half wide. Bind the curved edge of the front 
piece with the straw-coloured ribbon, sewing it 
through and through with small stitches, using 




22 Child's Rainy Day Book 

straw-coloured sewing silk. Sew one edge of a 
piece of the straw-coloured ribbon close to the 
curved edge of the back piece from A to AA (see 
Fig. 8). Mark, with a 
pencil, a dot at the 
middle of the curved edge 
of the back portion and 
one at the middle of the 
straight edge of the front 

-^Y_ /a part. Pin the two parts 

Pj(, 8 together at these dots 

and sew the edges to- 
gether. In doing this you will have to turn 
back the ribbon which edges the back portion. 
Next bring the ribbon forward to cover the rough 
edges of the straw where the two parts join and 
sew its loose edge along on the front portion. Cut 
a piece of China silk seven and three-quarters inches 
long by an inch and three-quarters wide. Make 
a narrow hem all around it. A tiny pencil mark is 
then made on the lower edge of the back piece and 
another at the middle of the silk strip. Gather the 
silk just below the hem on the upper edge and sew it 
to the lower edge of the bonnet at the back. Stitch 
a piece of narrow ribbon eight inches long at each 
side of the front, for strings, and the bonnet is done. 



Simple Home Made Toys and Games 23 
Leather and String Puzzle 

Materials Required : A strip of thick leather, 7 inches 

long by 2 wide, 
A piece of heavy linen string a foot 

long, 
A knife. 

With a sharp knife, a small strip of leather and a 

bit of strong string any boy can make this simple 

puzzle. It is easier to make, however, than it is 

to do, as the boy's friends will discover. Fig. 9 

will show how it is made. A strip 

of leather five and a half inches long, 

an inch and a quarter wide at one 

end and five-eighths of an inch at the 

other, is first cut. Then, starting 

at about five-eighths of an inch 

from the narrow end, cut with a 

sharp knife two slits down the middle 

of the piece three-eighths of an inch 

apart and three inches long. At 

three-eighths of an inch from the 

wide end a small piece, one-quarter 

of an inch square, is cut out of the 

. Fig. 9 

middle of the strip (see Fig. 9). 

From the scraps of leather remaining cut two pieces, 

each one inch long by five-eighths of an inch wide. 




24 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



Make a hole in the middle of each. Then pass a 
piece of stout linen cord eleven inches long back of 

the long, open strip 
in the large piece of 
leather, leaving the 
ends of equal length. 
Pass both ends down 
through the square 
hole and tie each of 
them securely through 
the hole in the middle 
of one of the small 
pieces of leather. This 
completes it. 

The object is to try 
to get the string, with 
the small piece of leather at either end, off the 
large piece of leather without cutting or un- 
tying it. The only way to do this is shown 
in Fig. 10. Holding both ends of the string, 
close to where it passes back of the narrow strip 
in the middle of the large piece of leather, pull 
the strip out through the small square hole. One 
of the small pieces of leather can then be slipped 
through the loop thus formed, releasing the 
string. 




Fig. io 



Simple Home Made Toys and Games 25 

A Bed for a Little Doll 

Materials Required : An oblong pasteboard box an inch 

or more longer than the doll it is 

to hold, 

§ yard of flowered or striped muslin, 

I yard of blue and white seersucker 

or other cotton, 
Some cotton or wool wadding, 
§ yard of thin white cotton cloth, 
J yard of outing flannel, 
\ yard of white piqu6. 

Almost any little girl who chooses to do so can 
make this dainty bed for one of her small dolls. 
She will only need an oblong pasteboard box with 
a cover, and large enough to hold the doll com- 
fortably. If mamma will let her have some pieces 
of cotton, flowered, striped and plain and a little 
cotton or wool wadding, she will have all the mate- 
rials she needs. 

First cut from blue and white striped cotton a 
bag the length and width of the box. Stitch it 
neatly together around three sides, turn it right 
side out and fill it with cotton or wool wadding. 
Turn in the edges on the fourth side and sew them 
together over and over. With a darning needle 
threaded with blue cotton or silk the mattress can 
be tufted here and there. The needle is first run 
through to the under side, then one little stitch is 



26 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



taken, bringing the thread back again to the right 
side, where the two ends are tied tightly together 
and cut close to the knot. If these tufts are made 




Fig. II 



at equal distances, say one inch apart, all over the 
mattress it will make it look very "real." 

The pillow is made in the same way as the mat- 
tress, except that it is not tufted. Cut the sheets 
and pillowcase from thin white cotton, allowing 



Simple Home Made Toys and Games 27 

enough for hems. Make the pillowcase a quarter 
of an inch wider and about an inch and a quarter 
longer than the pillow. Stitch it around both sides 
and on one end and hem the other end. Tiny 
blankets may be cut from outing flannel, and a 
spread made from a piece of white pique or other 
thick white wash material. The bed can now be 
made up, but it will look very plain. A fluffy 
canopy and valance (or flounce) of flowered or 
striped white muslin will improve it wonderfully. 
The cover is set on end and the head of the bed- 
stead is pressed into it (see Fig. 11), making a 
frame for the canopy. Measure from the front 
corner of this frame to the middle of the front and 
cut a piece of muslin half again as wide as this 
measurement and long enough to reach from the 
top of the frame to the bottom of the bed. Another 
piece the same size is cut, and then both are turned 
in and gathered at the top, hemmed on the other 
edges and sewed into place on the top edge of the 
canopy frame, so that the two will meet in the 
middle. They are both looped back against 
the front edge of the frame, see Fig. 11, and 
sewed there securely. The valance or flounce 
around the lower part of the bed is cut wide enough 
to allow for hemming at the bottom and to turn 



28 Child's Rainy Day Book 

in at the top. It should be long enough to reach 
once and a half around the bed. Turn in the upper 
edge of the valance, gather it to fit the bed and pin 
it in position. Then sew it with a strong needle 
and coarse thread on to the box through and 
through. This makes as comfortable and pretty a 
bed as dolly could wish. 

Floor Baseball 

Materials Required : A piece of white chalk, 

A piece of sheet lead, 2 by 2 inches, 
and as thick as a fifty-cent piece, 
3 or 4 strands of scarlet rafiia, 
A tapestry needle, 
A gimlet. 

This is a delightful game for a rainy day, and the 
preparations for it are very simple. In fact, when 
you have fashioned the disk of lead with a rafiia 
covering, there is nothing to provide but a piece of 
chalk. You can buy, from almost any plumber or 
tinsmith, for a few cents, a scrap of sheet lead two or 
three inches square and about as thick as a half 
dollar. Upon this piece of lead lay a half dollar, 
draw around it with a pencil and cut out the circle 
with a sharp, strong pair of scissors. It cuts as 
easily as cardboard of the same thickness. Bore a 



Simple Home Made Toys and Gam,es 29 




hole one-quarter of an inch across through the cen- 
tre of the disk with a gimlet or sharp-pointed awl. 

It is possible to 

use the disk just 

as it is, but it 

makes less noise 

if it is covered with 

raffia. To do this, 

thread a worsted 

(or tapestry) needle 

with raffia — the 

grass-like material 

that you have seen 

used for making 

baskets. Tie the other end of the raffia through 

the disk, as shown in Fig. 12 A, put the needle 

down through 
the hole in 
the centre, up 
through the 
loop in the 
raffia (see Fig, 
12 B) and pull 
your strand 
up close to the 
Fig. 12 B edge. This 



Fig. 12 A 




30 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



will make a stitch like that shown in Fig. 12 C — 
what sailors call a half hitch and mothers a 

buttonhole stitch. 
Make more of these 
stitches around the 
disk, until finally it 
i s entirely covered 
(see Fig. 13). If the 
strand of rafha gives 
out before the disk is 
covered sew the short 
end through the last 
two or three stitches 
on the edge of the 
disk and start a new 
piece by bringing the end through the last stitch 
on the edge. The short ends of both strands 
should be 
covered with 
the button- 
hole stitches 
as you go on. 
Now mark 
the diagram 
shown in Fig. 
14 on the Fig. 13 




Fig. 




Simple Home Made Toys and Games 31 

playroom floor with chalk, making the diamond 

two feet long by a foot and a half wide. In the 

centre of it is a circle, four inches across, which is 

home. Each player takes his turn at throwing 

the disk, standing on a line eight feet away. If 

he throws the disk into the 

space marked i he counts 

that he has a man on first 

base; if on 2, that he has 

one on second; and if on H, 

a home run is counted. If 

by chance with his first and 

second throws he puts the 

disk into 2 and 3 and with 

the third throw sends it into 

H he will have three runs to 

his credit. Should he throw 

the disk into F he loses one point from his score, 

and when he has thrown the disk outside the 

diamond three times he is out. 

A Rug for the DolVs House 




Fig. 14 



Materials Required J 



A small wooden frame, 
A piece of cream-coloured canvas, 
A ball of dull green worsted, 
A ball of cream white worsted, 
A steel crochet needle, No. 2. 



32 Child's Rainy Day Book 

Hooked rugs such as our grandmothers used to 
make are great fun to do. Why should not a Httle 
girl make one of finer materials for the floor of her 
doll's house? Either an empty slate frame or a 
wooden frame such as is sold by dealers in kinder- 
garten supplies for chair caning will do very well 
to hold the canvas of which the rug is made. 
Instead of strips of woolen we shall use worsted of 
various colours, and a strong steel crochet needle 
will be needed for "hooking." 

When you have decided upon the size of the rug 
you wish to make cut a piece of canvas an inch 
wider and longer than it is to be, and make a hem 
a quarter of an inch wide all around it. With a 
needleful of white linen thread sew the rug into the 
frame, taking the stitches through the edge of the 
canvas and around the frame until it is securely 
fastened in. Suppose a green rug is planned, with 
a group of white stripes at each end. It will be 
well to mark on the canvas where the stripes are 
to run before beginning the work. The worsted 
should be wound into balls. 

Starting with an end of the green worsted, at the 
lower right side of the frame, hold it under the rug 
and hook it up through the canvas with the crochet 
needle. Draw up a long enough end so that it can 



Simple Home Made Toys and Gam£S 33 

be cut off when the rug is finished and leave a thick 
texture. Do not make all the loops the same 
height, for if now and then one is left too low to cut 
with the others it will make the rug wear better. 
One after another of these loops is drawn through 
the canvas, leaving two threads of canvas between 
every two loops, in a straight line across the rug. 
When the edge of the rug is reached a row is made 
above the one just finished, bringing the worsted 
from left to right. So it goes on till the rug is 
finished, only changing the ball of green worsted 
for a white one when it is time to make the stripes. 
After the hooking is done, the tops of the longer 
loops are cut off with a sharp pair of scissors, so as 
to make a smooth, soft rug. It will wear better if 
it is lined. 

When you have completed this rug you may 
want to make others with patterns woven into 
them. Draw the pattern on the canvas with a 
soft lead pencil and it will be quite easy to work. 



Basket Weaving 



CHAPTER III 



BASKET WEAVING 



The rattan of which the baby's go-cart and 
mother's armchair are woven came from a far- 
away forest in India. Troops of monkeys may 
have swung upon the very pieces on which your 
baby brother is bouncing, for the rattan hung 
from tree to tree in long festoons. One day 
some brown natives cut it down and stripped it 
of its leaves. It was then packed in bundles and 
sent to this country. The hard, shiny bark cut 
into strips has been woven into cane seats for 
chairs, and the inner part or core of the rattan 
was cut by a machine into the round strands that 
you see in wicker furniture. 

It takes a man's strong hands to weave great 
armchairs and baby carriages, but boys and girls 
can make charming little mats and baskets as well 
as tiny chairs and tables for the doll's house, and 
other interesting things. Dealers in kindergarten 
supplies sell the rattan in different sizes, from 

37 



3S 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



No. oo, which is as fine as cord, to No. 7 or No. 8, 
which is almost as thick as rope. You will only- 
need the medium sizes, Nos. 2, 3 and 4, for your 
weaving, with some rafiia — the soft but strong 
fibre that the gardener uses for tying up his plants. 
This you will also find at the kindergarten-supply 
store. A pair of shears, a yardstick and an awl 
are the only tools you will need. 

Rattan comes in long skeins or twists (see 
Fig. 15). Always draw it out from the loop end, 




Fig. iv Twist of R.\tt.\n 



so that it will not get tangled and break. Two 
sizes of rattan are generally used in making a 
basket, the thicker for the spokes or ribs and the 
fine for the weavers. Both must be soaked in 
warm water to make them soft and pliable. 

As many spokes as are needed are first cut the 
required length and tied together with a piece of 
raffia. The weavers are thexi coiled into rings, 
so that they also can be soaked. This is done as 
follows: Starting near one end of a length of 




Basket Weaving 39 

rattan, coil it into a ring. Twist the short end 

around this ring once or twice to hold it (see 

Fig. 16). Coil the rest 

of the strand into rings, 

one above the other, and 

twist the other end of 

the rattan around them 

all until they are held 

securely. Have ready a ^ ^ 

■' ■' Fig. 16 

basin or pail of warm 

water — not hot — and let the spokes and weaver 

soak in it for ten or fifteen minutes. 

Suppose we begin with a mat, which is started, 
just as the baskets are, at the centre. 

A Mat or Stand for a Teapot 

Materials Required : 4 12-inch spokes of No. 4 rattan, 
I 7 -inch spoke of No. 4 rattan, 
I weaver of No. 2 rattan. 

Feel the ends of your weavers and you will find 
that some are stiff while others are almost as soft 
and pliable as cord. Choose a soft one to start 
the mat. The four spokes arranged in pairs are 
crossed in the centre, the vertical ones being above 
the others, or nearer to you. Place the short 



40 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



spoke, seven inches long, between the upper parts 
of these vertical spokes. They are held in posi- 
tion by the left hand, 
which is, as always, the 
one that holds, while 
the right is the weav- 
ing hand. An end of 
the weaver (which has 
first been unwound) is 
placed along the hori- 
zontal spokes, back of 
the vertical ones, with 
its tip toward the right. 
The forefinger of the 
right hand now presses 
the weaver across the vertical spokes and down 
behind the horizontal ones on the right (thus 
binding the end of the weaver securely), next 
over the lower vertical spokes and behind the 
horizontal ones on the left (see Fig. 17). This is 
repeated, and then, starting with the upper ver- 
tical spokes, the spokes are separated and the 
weaving begins (see Fig. 18). If you want to do 
close, even work, do not pull the rattan as you 
weave, but press it with the forefinger, under and 
over the spokes as close to the work as possible. 




Fig. 17 



Basket Weaving 



41 



The spokes should be very evenly separated, for 
upon this much of the beauty and strength of 
your baskets will depend. Think of the regular 
spaces between the spokes of a wheel and how 
much trouble one badly placed spoke wo aid make. 
When there is just enough weaver left to go around 
once, the edge is bound off. This is very much 
like overcasting. 

After going under one spoke and over another, 
the weaver is passed under the last row of weaving 
just before it reaches the next spoke. It then 
goes behind that 
spoke, in front of 
the next and under 
the last row of weav- 
ing before the next 
spoke. When a row 
of this binding has 
been made around 
the edge the mat is 
finished with the fol- 
lowing border: Cut 
the spokes all the 

same length, not straight across but slanting, so as 
to make a point that can easily be pushed down be- 
tween the weaving. Then hold them in water 




Fig. 18 



42 Child's Rainy Day Book 

for a few minutes. When they are quite pliable 
the first spoke (any one you choose to begin with) 
is pushed down between the rows of weaving 
beside the one to the left of it or spoke No. 2, 
No. 2 is pushed down beside the next one to the 
left, No. 3, and so on all the way around the mat. 
Take care that at least an inch of each spoke is 
pressed below the edge of the mat.. 

Small Candy Basket 

Materials Required : 4 14-inch spokes of No. 4 rattan, 

1 8 inch spoke of No. 4 rattan, 

2 weavers of No. 2 rattan. 

This little basket may be woven of rattan in 
the natural colour and afterward dyed or gilded, 
or one can buy the rattan already coloured. 

Weave a bottom like the beginning of the mat, 
and when it measures two inches in diameter 
(that is, from side to side, across the centre), wet 
the spokes and turn them up. The spokes should 
be turned up away from you, for the side toward 
the person weaving is always the outside of the 
basket and the weaving should go from left to 
right — as you read. Bend them over the middle 
finger so that the sides of the basket will be curved. 

Place the bottom of the basket on vour knee, 




Basket weaving 



Basket Weaving 



43 




Fig. 19. Joining Weavers 



with the side which in starting was toward you 
turned down and the spokes bent upward, and do 
the weaving of the sides in that position. In 
joining a new 
weaver lay it across 
the end of the old 
one, back of a 
spoke (see Fig. 19). 
The weaver at 
first should not be 
drawn too tight, 

but allowed to go easily, though it must be 
pressed closely down upon the row beneath it. 
When about three-quarters of an inch has been 
woven up the sides, the spokes are drawn grad- 
ually closer together by a slight tightening of the 
weaver, and this should be continued until an 
inch more has been woven. Bind off and finish 
with this border. The spokes for the border 
should measure at least four inches from the last 
row of weaving to the end of the spoke. Cut and 
soak as described in the directions for making a 
mat. Spoke No. i crosses the next one on the 
left, or No. 2, and is pushed down beside the next 
spoke, No. 3. No. 2 crosses No. 3 and is pushed 
down beside No. 4, and so on around the basket. 



44 Child's Rainy Day Book 

Doll's Table of Rattan 

Materials Required : 6 2 2 -inch spokes of No. 3 rattan, 
I 12-inch spoke of No. 3 rattan, 
I weaver of No. 2 rattan, 
A piece of fine wire, 4 or 5 inches 

long, 
Several strands of raffia, 
An awl. 

Perhaps you did not think it was as interesting 
to make a mat as to weave baskets, but you will 
be glad you know how to do it when you see 
some of the things that can be made with mats. 
For example, this dear little wicker table, just 
the size for a doll's house and the shape for an 
afternoon tea. 

Two groups of spokes, one of three and the 
other of three and a half, are crossed in the centre. 
The short spoke should be put between two others, 
never on the outside of a group. The mat is 
woven like the other mat and basket until it is 
three and a half inches in diameter, when the 
edge is bound off. Bring each spoke across the 
next one and press it down beside the next, as 
in the border of the basket, except that the long 
end is not cut off, but brought out between the 
fourth and fifth rows of weaving on the under side 
of the mat. The loops of the border are drawn 



Basket Weaving 45 

in so that they will not be more than a quarter 
of an inch beyond the weaving. The long ends 
of the spokes (which are to form the legs of the 
table) are brought together and bound with a 
piece of fine wire just under the centre. Separate 
them into three groups of four spokes each. The 
odd spoke is either cut off or whittled very thin 
and bound in with one of the three groups. A 
strand of raffia is now doubled around two or 
three spokes, above the wire binding, and wound 
tightly around one of the groups until it has cov- 
ered two inches, from the binding down. At the 
end a half hitch or one buttonhole stitch is made, 
to keep the raffia from slipping. It is then wound 
up again to the top. The raffia is brought down 
the second leg as far as the first one was wound; 
here it is turned with a half hitch and brought 
up again in the same way. The third leg is also 
wound down and up again, with a half hitch at 
the bottom to hold it. After this third leg has 
been covered the raffia is brought in and out 
between the legs, where they separate, in order to 
spread them more. It is then tied and the ends 
are cut close. Finally the spokes at the end of 
each leg are cut slanting so that the table will 
stand firmly. 



46 Child's Rainy Day Book 

Doll's Chair of Rattan 

Materials Required : 6 20-inch spokes of No. 3 rattan, 
I 1 1 -inch spoke of No. 3 rattan, 
4 lo-inch spokes of No. 3 rattan, 

1 piece of No. 3 rattan about 9 
inches long, 

2 weavers of No. 2 rattan, 
Several strands of raffia, 
An awl. 

Would you like to make a tiny high-backed 
chair to use with the tea table in the doll's house? 
It is only a trifle more difficult to make than the 
table. 

Two groups of twenty-inch spokes of No. 3 
rattan, one having three and the other three and 
a half spokes in it, are crossed at the centre, bound 
around twice with a weaver of No. 2 rattan and 
woven into a mat three inches in diameter. After 
binding off the edge the following border is made: 
Each spoke is brought down beside the next one, 
as in the border of the mat, except that the long 
end is drawn out between the second and third 
rows of weaving on the under side of the mat. 
When all the spokes have been brought out in 
this way underneath the mat, or seat, the four 
groups of three spokes each which are to form the 
legs are so divided that the vertical spokes in the 



Basket Weaving 47 

centre of the chair seat shall run toward the front 
and back of the seat. The thirteenth spoke is 
whittled to a thin point and bound in with one 
of the other groups, which are wound with raffia 
down to the end, turned with a half hitch and 
brought up again. A neat way to start the raffia 
is to thread it across a row of weaving in the 
chair seat, just above the group it is to bind. 

A piece of No. 3 rattan about nine inches long 
is coiled into a ring and held within the space 
enclosed by the legs, about half way down, where 
it is wound around with a strand of raffia and 
bound securely to each leg. 

The back of the chair is formed by inserting 
four spokes of No. 3 rattan, ten inches long, 
beside those in the seat, at that part of the seat 
which has been chosen for the back. To do this 
push a sharp pointed awl in between the weaving, 
beside a spoke, draw it out and you will have 
made room for the new spoke to run in. Bend 
the spokes up and weave back and forth upon 
them with a No. 2 weaver, turning on the outside 
spokes. Needless to say, the weaver must be 
very soft and pliable in order to make these 
sharp turns. You will find that you can make 
almost any kind of a back you choose. 



48 Child's Rainy Day Book 

If you decide to make an oval-shaped back, 
then when you have woven it high enough, bring 
each of the outside spokes over and down beside 
the other one, running it in between the weaving. 
The inner spokes are crossed at the centre and 
run down beside the outer spokes. To make an 
armchair insert six spokes instead of four at the 
back of the seat and weave the outer spokes in 
with the others for a few rows. They are then 
bent over and forward to form the arms. Each 
is cut to the desired length and run in beside one 
of the side spokes in the seat. 

A Bird's Nest 

Materials Required : 8 1 8-inch spokes of No. 3 rattan, 
I lo-inch spoke of No. 3 rattan, 
I J weavers of No. 2 rattan, 
A bunch of raffia, 
A tapestry needle, No. 18. 

At the Bird Market in Paris charming little 
nests are sold, woven of rushes on spokes of brown 
twigs, in the shape of an Indian tepee. They are 
intended for caged birds, who cannot build their 
own nests of sticks and grass and horsehair from 
the fields and wayside. Some free birds like them, 
too — wrens, for example. 



Basket Weaving 



49 




Fig. 



A boy or girl who has made the mat and basket 
and doll's furniture will have no difficulty in weav- 
ing one of these nests. Then there will be the 
delight of hanging it in 
a tree (not too near the 
house) and watching to 
see what bird will choose 
it when nesting time- 
comes. 

Let us weave a nest 
that shall be light and 
yet firm. Spokes of 

rattan will give it strength and weavers of raffia 
will make it soft and comfortable. Two groups 
of spokes, one of four and the other of four 
and a half, are crossed at the centre, bound 
three times with a strand of raffia and woven into 
a bottom an inch and a half across. Another 
weaver is then added and an inch of pairing is made. 
Pairing, or bam tush, as the Indians call it, is a sim- 
ple stitch. Two weavers are started, each one 
behind a spoke (see Fig. 20). The one on the left 
is brought over the first spoke, under the next and 
down in front. It is now the turn of the second 
weaver, which also passes over the first spoke on 
its right, under the next and outside, where it is 



50 Child's Rainy Day Book 

hold down ill front while the other weaver repeats 
the process. So it goes on around the nest. The 
spokes are then wet so that the bottom may be 
formed into a bowl shape, with sides rounding up 
from the very eentre. A row of jKiiring in No. 2 
rattan is next woven to hokl the slippery ratBa in 
place. This is followed by live-eighths of an inch 
of rafiia woven in pairing, the sides still being 
flared. Two r(.)ws of pairing in No. 2 rattan are 
then woven, drawing the spokes ill very slightly. 
At this point, which is the widest, the nest should 
measure eleven inches around the top. A row of 
under and over weaving is started, and at the place 
which has been chosen for the doorway the weaver 
is doubled back on a spoke and woven from right 
to left vmtil it comes to the second spoke to the 
right of the one it first doubled around. It is 
brought around this spoke, thus making the begin- 
ning of a doorway, which has an unused spoke in 
the centre of it. The weaver then returns to the 
spoke it first doubled around, where it doubles 
back again. This is repeated until the doorway is 
an inch and a quarter high. Two rows of pairing 
in No. 2 rattan are then woven all the way around, 
forming a firm top for the doorway, where they 
cross it. The spokes are drawn in closer and closer 



Basket Weaving 51 

with rows of pairing in raffia, until, when an inch 
and a half has been woven, they meet at the top. 
The ends of the spokes are left uneven lengths and 
bound around with a strand of raffia threaded 
through a tapestry needle. 

A loop to hang it by is made of two strands of 
raffia, five and a half inches long, covered close with 
buttonhole stitch in raffia. The spoke in the centre 
of the doorway should be cut at the lower part of 
the opening, just above the weaving, and after it 
has been wet until quite pliable it is bent and 
pressed up between the weaving beside the upper 
part of the same spoke. 



Knots with Raffia and Cord 



CHAPTER IV 



KNOTS WITH RAFFIA AND CORD 



Sailors' knots are of course fascinating to boys, 
but why should not girls enjoy making them, too? 
Think of the dolls' 
hammocks, the work 
bags and twine ball 
nets one can make, 
and think of being 
able to tie a good, 
square knot — one that 
will hold — instead of 
the "granny knots" 
that brothers and boy 
cousins laugh at! 

Of course you know 

how to tie the simplest 

knot of all — the one 

Fig. 21 
shown in Fig. 21. Let 

us call it the loop knot, for it is made by tying the 

ends of a strand together to form a loop. You have 




56 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



used it often for that purpose, I am sure, and some- 
times to tie two pieces of string together. You can 
make a pretty and useful sponge bag of raflfia 
in the natural colour with this knot. The wet 
sponge will not hurt the raffia, and in such 
an open bag the air soon dries it. 

Knotted Sponge Bag 

Materials Required : 2 5 strands of raffia, 

A length of No. 5 rattan, 
A tapestry needle. 

Roll a length of No. 5 rattan into a ring, as de- 
scribed on page 38, so that it can be soaked in 

warm water till it is 
pliable. Cut it into 
three pieces, each forty- 
seven inches long. Tie 
an end of one of these 
pieces into a ring seven 
inches in diameter and 
twist the long end in 
and 'out once around 
this (see Fig. 22). At 
the end of this row 
the ends, where they meet, should overlap an inch. 
If they are longer, cut them off with a slanting cut 




Fig. 22 



Knots with Raffia and Cord 57 

and tie them tightly together with a piece of raffia. 
Two more rings, the same size as the first one, are 
made with the other pieces of rattan. Hang one 
of the rings where you can reach it easily, on a low 
bedpost, for example. Double a strand of raffia 
and tie it through the ring as shown in Fig. 21, 
drawing the knot up quite close. Twenty-two 
strands are knotted on in this way. Space them 
along the ring about an inch apart, and, beginning 
with any pair of strands, tie the right-hand one 
with the nearest strand of the next pair on the 
right, making an even mesh at an inch from the 
first row of knots. Continue this all around the 
ring, when you will have made one row. Ten more 
rows are knotted in this way. Then bring the ends 
of all the strands straight down together and tie 
them below the centre of the ring with a piece of 
raffia. The ends are cut off evenly at about two 
inches and a half from where they were tied, to 
form a tassel. 

The two other rings are used for the handles of 
the bag. Lay one of them against the ring at the 
top of the bag so that the places where the rings 
are tied will come together. Thread a tapestry 
needle with raffia and bind the rings together with 
buttonhole stitch for an inch. Then sew through 



58 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



and through the binding to make it secure 
and cut the end close to the ring. The 
other ring handle is bound to the opposite 
side of the top ring in the same way. 



A Doll's Hammock 

Materials Required: 14 strands of raffia, 
A tapestry needle. 

Even simpler to make than the sponge bag is a 
doll's hammock of raffia. It is knotted in just the 
same way. 

Lay twelve strands of raffia evenly together. 
Bend them to find the middle, or "middle them," 
as the sailors say. Lay the 
short end of another piece of 
raffia on the middle of the twelve 
strands, with its tip turning 
toward the left, and wind the 
long end round and round from 
right to left, binding them to- 
gether for two and three-quarter 
inches. Bring the two ends 
of this binding together to form 
a loop, wind a strand of raffia tightly around them 
(see Fig. 23), and tie the ends securely. You will 




Fig. 



Knots with Raffia and Cord 



59 



then have twenty-four ends to knot together, two 
and two, as the knots in the bag were made. Pin 
the loop on the cushion of a chair or tie it to a low 
hook or to the doorknob, so that you can pull the 
strands taut. The first row of knots is tied about 
two inches from the loop and after that the rows 
are only an inch apart. The finishing of the edge 
of the hammock is of course different from the bag. 
It is done in this way: In starting the second 
row of knots the left strand in the first pair is of 
course left untied, and, after knotting the row 
across, the right strand of the last pair is also left 
free. When the third row is started the loose 
strand on the left side of the hammock is knotted 
in with the left one in the 
first pair of strands in this 
row (see Fig. 24). In 
other words, the strands 
which are left untied at 
each side of the hammock 
when the second, fourth, 
sixth and all the even 
numbered rows have been 
knotted, are tied in with 
the outside strands in the next uneven numbered 
row. To make a hammock for a little doll thirteen 




Fig. 24 



6o Child^s Rainy Day Book 

rows of knotting will be enough. When the last 
row has been tied bring the ends of the strands 
together, start a new strand at two inches from the 
last row of knots, and bind the ends together 
tightly for two and. three-quarter inches to make a 
loop like the one at the other end. After the loop 
is finished cut the ends close to the binding, and 
with a tapestry needle threaded in the end of the 
binding strand sew it through and through, to 
secure it, and cut its end close to the binding. 

How to Tie a Square or Reef Knot 

Once upon a time a little girl was carrying a 
bundle of cookies by the string, when suddenly the 
knot slipped and the cookies rolled in every direc- 




FlG. 25 

tion, over the sidewalk and into the street. If the 
baker's wife had known how to tie a square knot 
instead of that useless "granny," the accident 



Knots with Raffia and Cord 6i 

would never have happened. I wonder if you have 
ever had an experience of this kind. If so, I am 
sure you will like to learn how to tie the ends of a 
piece of string together so that they cannot slip. 

Take the ends of a piece of string, one in each 
hand. Cross them and bring the upper end down 




Fig. 26 

under the long end of the other piece (see Fig. 25). 
Now turn it back in the opposite direction above 
the first part of the knot, to make a loop, and pass 
the other end down through it (see Fig. 26). In 
this way each end of the string will come out beside 
its own beginning. 

Two Hitches 

There is no simple knot that you will find more 
useful than the half hitch. It is described in the 
directions for making the game of Floor Baseball 
in Chapter II. Two of these half hitches, side by 



62 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



side, are called by sailors a "clove hitch." In 
making nets this clove hitch is used to attach the 




Fig. 27 



first row of meshes to the top line or head rope, as 
it is called. 

Another use for the half hitch is in the process 
that sailors call "kackling" (see Fig. 27). This is 




used to prevent two ropes from rubbing against 
one another, or chafing. A beautiful handle for a 
basket or bag may be made with this knot. 



Knots with Raffia and Cord 63 

Take two pieces of rope and some light cord, or, 
if it is to be the handle of a basket, two pieces of 
heavy rattan, No. 5, and some No. 00 rattan with 
which to do the knotting. If you use the rattan 
be sure to soak it for ten minutes in warm water 
and choose a soft piece of the fine rattan for knotting. 
Hold the heavy pieces of rattan side by side, lay 
an end of the fine rattan upon them at the middle 




Fig. 29 Fig. 30 

(see Fig. 28), with its tip turning toward the left, 
and hold it there with the left hand, while with the 
right you bring the long end up and around both of 
the large pieces of rattan up and under the short 
end of the fine piece. It is then brought down and 
around the two large pieces of rattan and the end 
is passed down through the loop made in starting 
the hitch (see Fig. 29). Draw the tying strand up 
tight and bring the long end up and around the 
large pieces of rattan and up under the loop it left 



64 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



in starting (see Fig. 30). Take care to keep the 
fine rattan wet so that it will be very pliable ; if it 
dries it will surely crack as you tie it. 

Net Making 

If you would like to make a ping-pong 
net or a net for crabbing, you will find it 
quite easy to do and very interesting. After 




Fig. 31 

you have made these small nets you may feel 
like trying a tennis net if you have plenty of 
time and patience. 

At a hardware store you can buy tightly twisted 
cord of the size you wish to use in making your net. 
It is generally sold by weight. If you are planning 
to make a ping-pong or tennis net you will also 
need a heavy piece of cord for the head rope. A 
crab net would of course be netted on to an iron 



Knots with Raffia and Cord 



65 



ring attached to a long wooden handle. A needle 
such as is shown in Fig. 31 may be made quite 
easily by any boy who can whittle 

When you have wound your cord on the needle, 
stretch the head rope taut between two con- 
venient points, the backs of two chairs, for exam- 
ple, and begin at the left by tying one end of the 
cord to it. Make a loop the size you wish the 
mesh to be and fasten 
the cord to the head 
rope with a clove hitch, 
or two half hitches 
(see Fig. 32). When 
you have worked as 
far as you wish, get on 
the other side of the 
net and work back 
again. This row of 

meshes and all that follow after are made by 
fastening them to the upper row with a sheet 
bend (see Fig. 32). After the second row is 
finished come around to the other side again 
and knot the third row. When the net is 
wide enough knot it to a piece of rope the 
size of the head rope with a row of clove 
hitches. 




Fig. 32 



66 



Child's Rainy Day Book 
The Weaver's Knot 



In weaving bead chains on a loom, and in 
doing other things, you will often need to tie a 
new piece of thread or cord to a very short end. 
The weavers have a knot they use for this pur- 
pose, and as it is a 
simple one perhaps you 
would like to learn it. 
Hold the old end in a 
vertical position (that 
is, as if it were stand- 
ing up), lay the new 
piece back of it, its 
short end turning toward 
the left and reaching an 
inch or more beyond the 
vertical thread. Bring 
the long end around in front of the vertical thread, 
up back of its own short end on the left and across 
in front of the vertical thread (see Fig. 2;^). All 
these threads are held in position by the fingers 
and thumbs of the left hand, while the right hand 
brings the thread around. The vertical or old 
end is now turned down through the loop in front 
of it and there held by the thumb, while with the 




Fig. 3s 



Knots with Raffia and Cord 67 

fingers of both hands the long and short ends of 
the new thread are pulled up tight. 

Turk's Head 

There is a beautiful knot called by sailors a 
"Turk's head." Girls will find that they can 
make the prettiest buttons imaginable with it, 





Fig. 34 Fig. 35 

using silk cord of any colour, and both boys and 
girls will enjoy making napkin rings of rattan with 
a more open arrangement of the same knot. 

To make a button take a yard of cord, and at 
about four inches from one end bend it into a 
loop (like the one shown in Fig. 34), about half 
an inch across. The long end should come above 
the short one. Next make a second loop lying 
above and to the left of the first one (see Fig. 35), 
bringing the long end under the short one left in 



68 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



starting. The long end is then brought over the 
left side of the second loop, under the left side of 
the first loop, over the right side of the second 
loop, under the right side of the first and around 
to the beginning, inside of the short end (see 
Fig. 36). This makes one 
row, or the beginning 
of the button. If you 
have a bodkin with a large 
eye, the long end of the 
cord can be threaded 
into it and this will make 
the work easier. The 
next row follows the 
first one exactly — close to 
it and always on the inside. When the cord has 
followed in this way four times, to complete four 
rows (keeping the button form always in mind 
and moulding the cord into that shape), a firm 
little button will have been made. 




Fig. 36 



Napkin Ring 
Material Required : i length of No. 4 rattan. 



With a piece of rattan in the natural colour 
or a length of coloured rattan you can make a 




At the top of the plate is the beginning of a ping-pong net. 
Below it at the right is the Turk's-head knot. Still lower the 
knotted raffia work bag hangs. On the left is swung a doll's 
hammock of knotted rafha and above it a rattan napkin ring^ 
made with the Turk's-head knot 



Knots with Raflia and Cord 69 

useful and very pretty napkin ring by following 
the directions just given, with only one change. 
In beginning the second row (shown in Fig. 36), 
the long end is brought to the left or outside of 
the short end and continues around on that side. 
Five rows may be made instead of four. Keep 
the ring form in mind all the time, have the rattan 
wet and pliable and mould it into the shape of a 
ring, keeping the top and bottom as nearly the 
same size as possible. 

Green Raffia Work Bag 

Materials Required: A bunch of green raffia, 

A length of No. 5 green rattan, 
A tapestry needle. 

A Tapestry Needle 

When your mother was a little girl her mother 
used to make with linen twine a kind of coarse, 
heavy lace called macram^. One of the knots 
she used was called "Solomon's knot," and that 
is the one you will use if you decide to make this 
work bag. A length of No. 4 rattan and a bunch 
of raffia, both in a soft shade of green, will be 
needed. These you can buy of a dealer in basket 
materials for a few cents. Twist three rings like 



70 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



those for the upper edge and handles of the sponge 
bag described in the first part of this chapter. 
Hang one of these rings on a low bedpost or on a 
hook placed so that you can reach it easily when 
seated. Take two strands of raffia, double them 
around the ring, and with the four ends thus 
made tie a Solomon's knot as follows: Hold the 
two upper strands straight and taut. Bend the 




Fig. 3 7 



Fig. 38 



tinder strand on the left across them to the right 
(see Fig. 37), and bring the under strand on the 
right over the end of the left strand, back of the 
middle strands and through the loop made by 
the left strand in starting. Another pair of 
strands is knotted on in the same way, and another, 
until there are twenty-two groups around the 
ring. Starting anywhere on the ring, the two 
strands on the right of a group are brought beside 



Knots with Raffia and Cord 71 

the two on the left of the next group to the right. 
The middle pair of these four strands are held 
straight down, while the strands on the right and 
left are tied upon them in a Solomon's knot. This 
knot should be half an inch from those in the first 
row. Make a double knot this time as follows: 
After tying the knot (shown in Fig. 37), ta,ke the 
end which is on the right after the first knot has 
tied, bring it over to the left, above the middle^ 
strands, and bring the one on the left down over 
the end of the strand which was on the right, 
back of the two middle strands and up through 
the loop left in starting the right strand (see Fig. 
38). The whole row is made in this way. Ten 
rows are knotted, each one about half an inch 
from the row above. The bag is finished in the 
same way as the sponge bag, with a tassel and 
two handles. If you choose you can line it with 
silk of the same colour as the rafha, or, if it is to be 
used for a duster bag or to hold grandmother's 
knitting, it will not need a lining. 



what a Child Can Do with Beads 



CHAPTER V 

WHAT A CHILD CAN DO WITH BEADS 

Long, long ago when the world was young, 
the child who wished for a gay and pretty necklace 
for her little brown throat strung berries and 
seeds or pieces of shell and bone that her father 
ground smooth by hand and pierced for stringing. 
For thread there were grasses and fibres of plants 
or sinews of deer. 

Indian children sometimes used beads of clay, 
and so did the little Egyptians, for the fine clay 
by the river Nile made beautiful beads, as well as 
pottery. The children of the North — the little 
Esquimaux— had beads of amber, and the Indian 
tribes farther south strung shells that look so much 
like the teeth of animals one can hardly believe 
they are anything else. Look for them at the 
Natural History Museum and you will see that 
this is so. 

Nowadays there are of course many more kinds 
of beads — beads of glass, china, gold and silver, 



76 Child's Rainy Day Book 

and even of semi-precious stones. After all, 
though, the child who lives in the country or by 
the sea can gather the most interesting kind of 
all — such as were strung by those children who 
lived so long ago — seeds, berries, shells and sea- 
weed. Gather them on a sunshiny day and store" 
them away for use in the dull hours when you are 
obliged to be indoors. 

The seeds of muskmelons are soft enough to 
pierce; watermelon seeds will take more effort 
and a stronger needle. Then there are the orange 
berries of bittersweet and the red ones of holly. 
Haws or hawthorn berries are a beautiful red, too, 
and perhaps you will find in a neighbour's garden 
a bush of Job's tears — gray, white or brown. 
The grape-like seaweed which bursts with a pop 
when you step on it makes very pretty beads. 
Cut each one close to the bulb, yet far enough to 
•leave a short piece of the stem on each side of the 
bead. Pierce the bulbs while they are still wet, 
and after they have dried for a few days they will 
be ready to string. Apple and flax seeds, beans 
and peas before they have dried, make excellent 
beads. A few of the small glass beads which 
come in bunches may be used with these natural 
beads, and will set them off wonderfully. Although 



What a Child Can Do with Beads 77 

they are usually sold in bunches, eight skeins 
to a bunch, the skeins can sometimes be 
bought separately. Olive-green crystal beads 
of the size that dealers call No. 3-0 are 
beautiful with red berries, and what could be 
prettier to string with brown seeds or Job's tears 
than gold-lined crystal beads? Let us use them 
in making a chain for a muff or fan. 

Muff Chain in Brown and Go id 

Materials Required: 12 brown seeds or Job's tears, 

A bunch of gold-lined crystal beads, 

No. 3-0, 
A spool of No. 60 white linen thread, 
A No. 5 needle. 

Have you ever seen any Job's tears — the inter- 
esting tear-shaped seeds of an East Indian grass? 
It grows very well in this climate, and you may 
like to raise it yourself. Think of being able to 
pick beads from a plant of your own! 

Be careful to boil these beads before stringing, 
for a little grub sometimes lives in them, and he 
may appear when you least expect him or may 
even make a meal of the thread on which the 
beads are strung. If you have not the Job's 
tears, apple seeds will look almost as well, or you 



yS Child's Rainy Day Book 

can buy at the grocer's whole allspice. Use a 
No. 5 needle and a piece of No. 60 white linen 
thread four inches longer than you wish the chain 
to be when it is finished; two yards and a quarter 
is a good length. 

String a seed and draw it down to the middle of 
the thread, then string some of the gold-lined 
crystal beads for about three-quarters of an inch. 
A seed is next threaded on, and then quarter of 
an inch of gold-lined beads. Keep on in this way, 
first threading a seed and then quarter of an inch 
of gold-lined beads, until there are only two inches 
of the thread left. Tie this end through a bead 
to keep the others from slipping off. Thread 
your needle with the other end of the strand and 
start by stringing three-quarters of an inch of 
the gold-lined beads, then a seed and quarter of 
an inch of gold-lined beads. When this end of 
the strand has been strung — just as the other 
was — to within two inches of the tip, tie the two 
ends together and the chain is finished. 

Raffia and Bead Chain 

Materials Required : 2 strands of rose-pink raffia, 

A bunch of large rose-pink crystal 

beads, 
2 fine darning needles. 



What a Child Can Do ivith Beads 79 

Another pretty and simple chain is made of 
large rose-pink crystal beads strung on pink raffia ; 
or you can use seeds or berries 
instead of the crystal beads, in 
which case the raffia will have 
to be split. Tie the strands of 
raffia together at one end, and 
on each of the other ends 
thread a fine darning needle. 
String one bead, then pass both 
needles through a single bead 
and through another and another 
(see Fig. 38a). Two beads are 
then slipped on each strand 
(see Fig. 38a). Next both 
needles pass through three beads, 
and so on to the end of the 
chain. Tie the ends securely. Fig. jSa 

Double Chain of Seeds and Beads 

Materials Required : A bunch of crystal beads, letter 

E, 
25 large beads of a deeper shade or 

the same number of seeds or 

berries, 
A spool of No. 60 white linen 

thread, 
A No. 5 needle. 




8o 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



A double chain like the one shown in Fig 39 may- 
be made of crystal E beads strung with seeds or 

larger beads of a deeper 
shade. Measure off a piece 
of white linen thread, No. 
60, double the length you 
wish the chain to be. Three 
yards twenty-two inches will 
make a chain sixty-five 
inches long, which is a good 
size. In one end of it thread 
a No. 5 needle and string one 
large bead, or seed, which 
should be pushed down to 
the middle of the strand. 
Here it may be tied, to hold 
it in place. Next string two 
inches and a half of E 
beads, then another large 
bead, or seed, and so on to 
the end of the strand, where 
the tip is tied through the 
last bead. The other end 
of the strand is then threaded 
and two inches and a half of the E beads are 
strung, the needle passes through the next 




Fig. 39 



What a Child Can Do with Beads 8i 

large bead on the end first strung (see Fig 39), 
and two and a half inches more of the E beads are 
threaded, So it goes on to the end of the chain — 
the needle always passing through the next large 
bead on the strand already strung, after two inches 
and a half of E beads have been threaded. 

Braided Raffia Chain 

Materials Required: 3 strands of pale green raffia, 

66 darker green crystal beads, No. o. 

A braided raffia chain with a cluster of three 
crystal beads every few inches is so simple that any 
little girl Can make it. Choose pale green raffia 
and beads of a deeper 
shade, and it will look 
like clover leaves on 
their stems. String 
twenty-two of the green 
crystal beads. No. o size, 
on a strand of split raffia. 
On two other strands 
thread the same number 
of beads. Tie the thin 
end of each piece around 
the last bead, so that it Fig 40. 




82 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



cannot slip off. The other ends are all tied to- 
gether. Now j)in the knot securely to a cushion, 
or tic it to a hook at a convenient height and 
braid the three strands together closely and evenly 
for about two inches. Then slip a bead 
from each piece up close to the work and 
braid it in as shown in Fig. 40. This will 
make a clover leaf. After braiding two 
inches more slip another bead on each 
strand up close to the work and make 
another leaf. When it is finished tie the 
ends together securely. 



Materials 
Required : 




Fig. 41 



A Daisy Chain 

Half a bunch of olive green opaque 

beads, No. 3-0, 
Half a bunch of milk white beads, 

No. o, 
I skein yellow crystal E beads, 
A spool of No. 60 white linen thread, 
A No. 5 needle. 



Next best to making a 
daisy chain out - of - doors 
is to string one of beads. 
And this rainy-day chain 
will last as many months 
as the real chain would 



What a Child Can Do with Beads 83 

hours. First string sixteen green beads, then 
eight white ones. Run the needle down through 
the first white bead and string a yellow one. Next 
pass the needle through the fifth white bead (see 
Fig. 41) and draw the thread up tightly. This 
makes a daisy. String another stem of sixteen 
green beads and make a daisy as you did the first 
one. The whole chain is strung in this way. 

Chain of Watermelon Seeds Strung With Beads 

Materials Required: 120 fresh watermelon seeds, 

A bunch of pink crystal E beads, 
A spool of No. 60 white linen thread, 
A No. 5 needle. 

A chain that is very pretty and effective may be 
made with watermelon seeds and pink crystal E 
beads, the colour of the inside of a watermelon. 
The seeds can be pierced quite easily with a No. 5 
needle. Take two pieces of white linen thread, 
well waxed, the length you wish the chain to be, 
and two needles. Tie an E bead on the end of 
each piece of thread. Lay them side by side and 
string four more E beads on the strand at the right. 
Pass the needle on the left up through the three 
middle beads of the five on the right strand (see 



84 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



Fig. 42), and string one more E bead. Next thread 
a seed on each strand and string the E beads in the 

same way. So it goes 
on for the whole length 
of the chain. 

If you are fond of 
playing Indian and 
have no Indian cos- 
tume, you ought to 
be happy. That seems 
a strange thing to say, 
but the reason is this: 
You can have all the 
fun of making a cos- 
tume yourself, you can 
learn how to do it in 
the Indian way, and 
after it is finished it 
will be far more like the 
dress worn by Western Indians than those that are 
sold ready made. 

Suppose we begin with the belt. 

It is woven on a loom — not an Indian loom, 

which, as perhaps you know, was a bow strung with 

several strings which served as the warp threads 

for the belt or chain. Possibly you have a loom of 




Fig. 42 



What a Child Can Do with Beads 85 

your own and know how to use it; but if not you 
can either buy one for twenty-five or fifty cents, 
or, what is still better, make one yourself. A sim- 
ple, good loom may be made from a cigar box. 

A Home Made Bead Loom 

Materials Required: An oblong cigar box, about 2^ inches 

deep, 
4 small sticks of wood 2^ inches 

long and J-inch square, 
16 |-inch screws, 
6 small screw eyes, 
6 tacks, 
A sharp knife, 
A screw driver, 
A hammer, 
Sand paper. 

Choose a good strong cigar box, one that is quite 
shallow, and remove the cover. Rule a line one 
inch from the bottom of the box on each long side 
and draw a sharp knife across the line several times 
until the upper part separates easily from the lower 
without injuring it. Smooth the tops of the sides 
with sandpaper. Fasten each of the small sticks of 
wood inside a corner of the box, to strengthen it. 
This is how it is done. Drive one of the half -inch 
screws up from the bottom into the end of the 
stick, another into it through the side, and two, 



86 Child's Rainy Day Book 

one near the top and one lower down through the 
end of the box, into the stick. On the outside of 
the box at one end six round-headed tacks are 
driven in a row an inch and a half from the top and 
about three-quarters of an inch apart. Drive six 
screw eyes in the same position on the opposite 
side. Cut a row of notches on the top of each end 
of the loom, about one-sixteenth of an inch apart, 
and deep enough to hold a thread. The loom is 
then ready for weaving. Chalk-white beads are 
much used by the bead-weaving Indians like the 
Sioux and Winnebagos, especially for the ground- 
work of their belts. Let us choose them for the 
background of the belt and weave the design in 
Indian red and blue. 

Indian Bead Belt 

Materials Required : i bunch chalk white beads, No. 3-0, 
4 skeins each Indian red and dark 

blue beads, No. 3-0, 
I spool No. 60 white linen thread, 
I spool No. 90 white linen thread, 
A No. 12 needle, 
A piece of wax. 

Cut twenty-two pieces of No . 60 linen thread about 
six inches longer than 3^ou wish your belt to be. Tie 
a loop at one end of each piece and slip it over the 



What a Child Can Do with Beads 87 

round-headed tacks at one end of the loom. Bring 
the long ends one at a time through twenty-two 
of the notches at the top of the loom and stretch 
them across to the notches in the opposite end. 
Draw them taut and tie them through the screw 
eyes. These make the warp threads for the belt. 

U^ u u (^ <^mm^l»m(fimii ul. (^l t l t L.^mmmmh 

Fig. 43 



As you will vSee by the pattern, the belt is twenty- 
one beads wide and you have twenty-two threads. 
This is so that there will be a thread on each side 
of every bead. Thread the needle with No. 90 
white linen thread. Tie one end of it to the warp 
thread on the left (as you hold the loom with the 



88 Child's Rainy Day Book 

end on which arc the screw eyes toward you). 
Bring the needle out to the right below the warp 
strands, string twenty-one white beads and press 
them up between the warp strands, so that one bead 
will come between every two threads. Run the 
needle back from right to left through the beads, 
making sure that it goes above the warp threads. 
This makes one row. The whole belt is woven in 
the same way, except that when the figure begins 
the beads should be strung according to the pattern. 
For example, in making the first row of the pat- 
tern shown in Fig. 43, you will string nine white 
beads, three Indian-red ones and nine more of the 
white. The next tw^o rows will be the same, and 
then you will string six white beads, three Indian- 
red, three blue, three Indian-red, and six white. 
Wax the thread you weave with, so that the sharp- 
edged beads will not cut it. In joining new needle- 
fuls use the weaver's knot shown on p. 66. Arm- 
lets are woven in the same way, but much wider — 
about forty beads wide and long enough to 
go around the upper part of the arm. Tie 
them together with strips of chamois, knotted 
in with the ends of the warp strands. Head 
bands, bracelets and chains are also woven in 
this way. 



What a Child Can Do with Beads 89 

Bead Wrought Indian Shirt 

Materials Required: i large chamois skin, 

2 smaller chamois skins, 

I spool white linen thread, No. 90, 

A No. II needle, 

J bunch dark blue beads. No. 4-0, 

^ bunch Indian red beads, No. 4-0, 

^ bunch white opaque beads, No. 

4-0, 
28 large Indian red opaque beads. 

Although this shirt and the moccasins and 
leggings that go with it are so simple to make, you 
are almost sure to need the help of your mother 
or governess in planning and cutting them. The 
shirt is the size for a child of seven or eight, but it 
can easily be enlarged so as to fit a boy of twelve 
or fourteen. It is made by the pattern shown in 
Fig. 44, which is drawn on the scale of one inch 
to a foot. One large chamois skin and two of 
medium size will be needed. Double the large 
skin lengthwise to cut the upper part of the shirt. 
This should be ten inches deep and a yard wide. 
Cut at the centre a slit about nine inches long for 
the neck. The ends form the sleeves. Lay the 
two smaller skins together and cut from them the 
lower portion of the shirt. The back and front 
are alike, each measuring nineteen mches wide at 



90 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



the top, twenty-two inches at the bottom, and 
fifteen inches deep. Make a pencil mark at the 
centre of each lower edge of the upper part and 
one at the middle of the top of both of the lower 
pieces. Turn up an inch at each lower edge of 




mMimiMm 



Fig. 44 



the upper part of the shirt and baste the doubled 
edge of one side against the top of one of the lower 
parts, keeping the pencil marks at the middle of 
each together. Sew the edges together over and 
over with No. 90 white linen thread. Join the other 
side in the same way. The overlapping edges of 



What a Child Can Do with Beads 



91 



the upper part of the shirt should be kept on the 
right side. Sew the sides of the shirt together 
with a row of back- 
stitching, four inches 
from the edge. The 
edges are cut into a 
fringe four and a 
half inches deep at 
the ends of the 
sleeves and three 
inches on the sides 
and bottom of the 
shirt. The edges 

of the upper part which hangs over the lower 
are also cut into a short fringe. Work two 
narrow bands of bead embroidery round the neck, 
and if you like you can also work a band half way 
down the lower part of the shirt and one near the 




Fig. 45 




Fig. 46 



lower edge just above the fringe. They are made 
in this way: Thread a No. 11 needle with white 



92 



ChikVs Rainy Day Book 



linen thread and make a knot at the other end. 
Start at the right of the neck close to the edge. 
Bring the needle through to the outside of the 




Fig. 47 

shirt. String four beads, press them down close 
to the shirt and bring the needle through to the 
inside. This makes a stitch which runs up and 
down at right angles with the neck opening. Bring 
the needle out again on a line with the place where 
it went in and close beside it, string four more 
beads, bring it up and run it in again just at the 
left of where the work began (see Fig. 45). This 




Fig. 48 



simple stitch is the one that is most used by the 
Indians in embroidering their buckskin shirts, 
leggings and moccasins. String different colours, 



What a Child Can Do with Beads 93 

according to the pattern. Several designs 
for this work are shown in Figs. 46, 47 
and 48. If you wish to decorate the shirt 
still more, cut strips of chamois about a 
quarter of an inch wide and five inches long, 
pierce a row of holes, two together, at 
intervals of an inch and three - quarters 
across the shirt (sec Fig. 44), bring the 
strips of chamois through them an d tic 
them once. String a large Indian-red bead 
on each end and tie a knot to keep it from 
falling off. 



Indian Leggings 



Materials Required: 2 small chamois skins, 

I bunch dark blue beads, No. 4-0, 
\ bunch Indian red beads, No. 4-0, 
i bunch white opaque beads, No. 

4-0, 
A spool of No. 90 white linen thread, 
A No. II needle. 



Nothing could be easier to make than Indian 
leggings, and you can put as much work or as 
little as you choose into the embroidery. Cut 
from two small chamois skins two pieces in the 



94 



Child's Rainy Day Book 




Sli 
Is m 




Fig. 49 

shape shown in Fig. 49. They should each 

be eight and three-quarters 
inches at the lower edge, 
twelve inches at the top 
and twelve high. The 
design shown in Fig. 50 
will be simple and effect- 
ive, and narrow bands 
like those in Fig. 51 may 
be worked along the edge 
that laps over and across 
the bottom. Six strands 
o f chamois about eight 
inches long are brought 
Fig. 50 through the leggings on 




What a Child Can Do with Beads 95 

each side at an inch from the edge. These form 
the fastenings. 




Fig. 51 



Beaded Moccasins 

Materials Required: i medium-sized chamois skin, 

^ bunch dark blue beads, No. 4-0, 
^ bunch Indian red beads, No. 4-0, 
^ bunch white opaque beads. No. 

4-0, 
I spool No. 25 white linen thread, 
A No. 3 needle, 

I spool No. 90 white linen thread, 
A No. II needle. 

To make the pattern for these moccasins you 
need only stand on a sheet of brown paper and 
draw with a pencil around your bare foot so as 
to get its exact size and natural form. Cut the 
pattern out and take it to a shoemaker, who will 
cut from it a pair of leather soles. The uppers 
you can cut from a paper pattern copied from the 
shape shown in Fig. 52. It will not be difficult 
to plan them to fit the soles, for you have only to 



96 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



measure the distance around the outer edge of 
the soles and make the uppers measure about an 
inch more along the outer edge, to allow for the 
seam at the back and for a little fulness across 

the toe. Work them 
in some simple design, 
like the one shown 
in Fig. 53. A pretty 
beaded edge is made 
with a stitch which 
is very like the 
one used in work- 
ing the bands. 
Thread a needle 
with No. 90 white 
linen thread and 
bring it through 
the top of the moc- 
casin close to the 
edge Fasten the end by taking two or three 
small stitches. String six beads of a colour 
used in working the bands and bring the 
needle through the edge from the inside of 
the moccasin out, about a quarter of an 
inch from the beginning, making the stitch 
shown in Fig. 54. Before starting the next stitch 




Fig. 52 



What a Child Can Do with Beads 



97 



pass the needle under the 
first one. Work the whole 
upper edge of the moccasin 
in this way, then stitch it 
together up the back, mak- 
ing a seam a quarter of an 
inch wide. It should be 
stitched on the inside and 
then turned right side out. 
The uppers are stitched on 
to the soles with a No. 3 
needle and a well-waxed piece 
of white linen thread, No. 25. 
Should this prove too hard work 



fr>»a)«>"-»:::?:^:tr<i*»>?5 






«ffm 



"•f»*W 






R 












•>-!-»-> -r-» 






2' -n T ~)~i~ 



^ T»^— 2E!HSS~» "» -> T "» "< 
->">->-><-% gSffK ** "♦ ■• "• "♦ 5 

n Trr? ^-t- .-«-) -»-r> -»-)-) 



Fig. 53 




Fig. 54 



98 Child's Rainy Day Book 

for small fingers the moccasins may be taken to 
a shoemaker to finish. 

Bead Wrought Silk Bag 

Materials Required: A piece of silk or ribbon, 5 inches 

wide by yf inches long, 
I bunch of crystal beads. No. 4-0, 

the same colour as the silk, 
I skein of No. 4-0 beads of a con- 
trasting colour, 
A spool of letter A sewing silk of 

the same colour as the silk, 
A No. 1 1 needle, 

A yard of inch-wide ribbon the col- 
our of the silk. 

The daintiest little silk bag may be made by 
any small daughter for mamma or a dearly-loved 
aunt to carry a bit of lace work or some other 
treasure. A piece of soft ribbon five inches wide 
and seven and three-quarters inches long in a pale 
shade of lavender makes a charming bag. A net- 
work of lavender crystal beads of the same shade, 
with a pearl or gold-lined crystal bead at the 
point OT each diamond-shaped mesh, gives the 
finishing touch of daintiness (see Fig. 55). Start 
by threading a fine needle with a piece of sewing 
silk the colour of the bag. Fasten the end by 
taking one or two small stitches near the left side 



What a Child Can Do with Beads 



99 



of the strip of silk at about two inches from the 
lower edge. String six lavender beads, one pearl 
and seven lavender beads, and take a stitch a 
quarter of an inch from the beginning and on a 
line with it. Now run the needle down through 




Fig. 55 



the last bead strung (see Fig. 56), and string six 
more lavender beads, one pearl and seven lavender. 
Another stitch is made a quarter of an inch from 
the last one, the needle is run down through the 
last bead, and it goes on in this way until a row 
has been made across the piece of silk. The bag 



lOO 



Child's Rainy Day Book 




Fig. 56 



is then stitched up the sides and around the bottom 
on the wrong side and turned right side out. 
Bring the needle attached to the beadwork down 

through the six lav- 
ender beads and 
one pearl o.^e, at the 
left side of the first 
half diamond made, 
and string six lav- 
ender, one pearl 
and six lavender 
beads. Pass the 
needle through the 
next pearl bead on 
the right in the row above and string another 
six lavender, one pearl and six lavender beads 
to make another half diamond. So it goes 
on around the bag. This row and all the other 
ones are only attached to the row above, not to 
the silk. The last row of netting should reach a 
little below the bottom of the bag. A twisted 
fringe is then made as follows: Run the needle 
down through the beads on the left side of the 
first mesh in the row just finished, through the 
pearl bead at the point, and also pass it through the 
pearl bead on the back of the bag which lies just 



What a Child Can Do with Beads loi 

beneath it. String thirty lavender beads and 
pass the needle up through the beads on the right 
side of the first mesh and down again through 
those on the left side of the second mesh. It 
runs through the pearl bead at the point of the 
mesh and the one under it at the back of the bag. 
String thirty more beads and twist the thread on 
which they are strung once around the right side 
of the loop just made. The next loop is made in 
the same way — passing the needle up through the 
beads in the right side of the second mesh, down 
through those in the left side of the third one, 
and through the pearl bead at' the point of the 
mesh at the front and the one below it at the 
back. Thirty more beads are then strung. When 
you have made this fringe all across the bottom 
of the bag, fasten the end of the silk by sewing it 
two or three times through the bottom of the 
bag. Finish the top of the bag with drawing 
strings as follows: Turn in a hem three-quarters 
of an inch wide at the top of the bag and baste 
it. Hem it around neatly with the lavender sew- 
ing silk and make a casing for the drawing strings 
to run through, by putting a row of backstitching 
a little over a quarter of an inch above the bottom 
of the hem. There should be two little holes made 



I02 Child's Rainy Day Book 

on each side of the bag on the outside of the hem 
between the stitched seam and the bottom of the 
hem. They are put there so that the ribbon 
drawing strings can run into the casing. You 
can make them with an ivory or metal piercer 
called a stiletto, or any other tool that has a sharp 
round point. The neatest way to finish these 
holes is to sew the edges over and over with a 
needleful of sewing silk. Half a yard of narrow 
ribbon should be allowed for each drawing string. 
Thread it in a bodkin, or ribbon needle, which is 
run into one of the holes at the side of the bag, 
through the casing at the lower part of the hem, 
all around the bag and out of the hole beside the 
one where it went in. Now tie the ends of this 
drawing string together, thread the other one 
through the bodkin and run it into a hole on the 
opposite side of the bag, through the casing all 
around the bag and out of the little hole beside 
the one where it went in. The ends of this piece 
are also tied, and then the bag is done. 



Clay Working 



CHAPTER VI 



CLAY WORKING 



Have you ever noticed how, when it rains, 
one road will dry at once, and on another your 
footprints will hold the water like a cup for hours? 
Do you know the reason for it? The first road is 
sandy, and so the water filters through the coarse 
particles and soon disappears. The other is mostly 
of clay, which is close and fine, and after your 
foot made that little hollow it was doubtless half 
baked by the sun so that it became like natural 
pottery. You probably know all this, and have 
felt with your own fingers the difi;erence between 
the sand, in which you have built forts and dug 
with your shovel in the summer and played with 
on the kindergarten sand table in winter, and the 
soft, smooth clay that you have formed into bird's 
nests, eggs and other things in kindergarten. 

Years and years ago, before our great-great- 
great-grandfathers were even thought of, some 
man noticed the same thing that you do — that one 



105 



io6 Child's Rainy Day Book 

part of the earth held water for hours, while it 
disappeared so quickly from other parts — and it 
set him thinking. Why not make a bowl in which 
he could carry water when he was travelling or 
hunting in dry places? This is the way, some 
wise men think, the making of pottery began. 
Cups and small vessels could easily be moulded 
from small lumps of clay, but large pieces — great 
bowls and jars — it was soon found would have to 
be formed in a mould. Shallow baskets, pieces 
of gourd or fruit rind, were the moulds in which 
these large pots were started. 

In beginning the bottom, either a small piece of 
clay was patted flat into a form like a cookie and 
fitted into the bottom of the mould, or else a strip 
of clay was coiled round and round into a mat 
shape, working the coils together with the fingers. 
The sides were almost always built up with coils 
of clay, then, with the fingers and some rude 
tools — smooth stones, bits of shell or pieces of 
gourd — they were smoothed and polished. Soon 
the potters began to decorate their vessels with 
patterns cut or pressed into the damp clay and 
even painted them with coloured clay, ground fine 
and mixed with a liquid. The clay objects you 
enjoyed making in kindergarten were not very 



Clay Working I07 

strong. A bowl or cup that is moulded from such 
clay will not hold water for very long either. It 
will soon soften and fall to pieces. That is what 
happened to the first clay bowls and cups. 

If clay is baked in the sun it becomes a little 
harder and more useful — but not much — so the 
first clay workers found that they must bake their 
clay pots more thoroughly if they were to be 
really strong. Some 
of the old potters — 
like the Catawba 
Indians — baked their 
vessels before the 
fire, and as the clay 
they used was very -piG. 57 

good they found it 

made them hard enough. In other tribes the 
potters made a bed of bark, set fire to it and 
baked the pot until when it came out it was red 
hot. At first the clay workers used the clay just 
as they found it, but when they began to make 
large pots and cauldrons to cook in they found 
that powdered shell or sand mixed with the clay 
made them stronger and less liable to crack in 
baking. 

The cooking vessels had almost always rounded 




loS 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



bottoms, because in those da^^s the floors of houses 
were of sand or soft earth into which the rounded 




Fig. sS 



bottoms would set and hold the pots upright. 
These pots were set directly over the fire and kept 
in position by stones or sticks of wood. Some 
that had handles or flaring rims could be hung 
over the fire by cords or vines. 

The Indians moulded all sorts of things out of 
clay besides these utensils. Drums were made 
by stretching buckskin over the tops of earthen 
pots. Then there were whistles and rattles, 
trowels, modelling tools, figures of men and animals, 
and many toys like those shown in Figs. 57, 58 
and 59. Beads were also made of clay, and so 



Clay Working 



109 



were tobacco pipes in many shapes. One would 
have the face of a man on the bowl, another a 
goat with open mouth, or a bird with its neck 
outstretched and bill parted, and on another the 
bowl would be formed by a natural-looking snake 
coiled up for a spring. 

In time men learned more about clays and how 
to mix and form and bake them, until now, as 
you know, po'ttery that is beautiful and serviceable 
is made all over the world, and in great factories 
china and porcelain made of the finest clays are 
moulded, decorated and fired for our use. It will 
be interesting to you sometime to see one of the 
factories where such ware is made, but although 
it is so fine and smooth and perfect and so useful 




Fig. 59 



to us, I doubt if the workmen who make it have 
half the pleasure in their task that the first potters 



lid 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



had in moulding their rough cooking utensils and 
clay pipes. So I am glad to think that although 
you may never be able to make china, you can 



Fig. 6o 

work in clay as the Indians used to do, for that 
you will enjoy far more. 

Of course you would like to make something 
that you can use, something that will not 
crumble and break like the things you modelled 
in kindergarten. To do this you will need to get 
a clay which can be baked — or fired, as potters 
express it — and you must have a clay that is so 
mixed or arranged as to bake well in the kiln (or 
pottery oven) to which you are going to send it. 
If you live near a pottery where flower pots or 



Fig. 6 1 



gray stoneware are made you can probably ar- 
range to buy your clay there, and after your 
pottery is finished have it baked at the same 



Clay Working 



III 



place. The clay that is used at a stoneware 
pottery is arranged so as to fire at a much 
greater heat than the flower-pot clay, and so the 
ware is stronger, but the flower-pot ware will 
be strong enough for the things you will make. 




Fig. 62 



Although this clay is gray before it is baked, it 
comes from the kiln a beautiful Indian red. 

You will not need many tools beside your own 
fingers and thumbs. One boxwood modelling 
tool the shape shown in Fig. 60, and another with 
more flattened and rounded ends (see Fig. 61) 
will be enough to begin with. These you can buy 
at a kindergarten-supply store. Later you may 



112 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



need the sheet-steel tools shown in Figs. 62 and 
63. Dealers in hardware sell the sheet steel, and 
these tools can easily be cut from it — doubtless 
the dealer will do it for you. 

Buy fifteen or twenty pounds of clay at a time, 
ready mixed if possible. If it comes to you in 
the dry state — in rock-like pieces — you must first 




Fig. 63 



pound it to a powder. This 3^ou can do out of 
doors by spreading the lumps of clay on a paper 
laid on flat stone and pounding them with a 
smaller stone, or, if it must be done in the house, 
spread the clay on a strong bench or table and 
pound it with an old flatiron. It is now ready for 
soaking. Put a little water in an earthen crock 
and add the powdered clay to it, mixing it with 
your hand and adding clay until it is the right 
consistency to mould. If you find you have too 



Clay Working 113 

much water, pour off some after the clay is well 
mixed, and if it is still too moist, spread it on a 
board in the air until it has dried out sufficiently. 

Keep the clay in an earthen crock with a cover. 
Pour a little water into it first, just enough to 
moisten the bottom of the crock, and then put in 
the clay. When it is to be left over night or a 
longer time, make deep holes in the clay with your 
thumb and pour water into them. Lay a damp 
cloth over it and cover with the earthen top. If 
at any time it dries out so that it cannot be easily 
moulded, let it dry entirely, pound it to powder 
again and mix as already described. 

If you live in the country the place to work with 
clay will be in an outbuilding, a woodshed, barn 
or workshop where there is a good strong table or 
bench. The best place for a city child to work 
is a playroom where there is a wooden floor, an 
old table and nothing valuable to be harmed with 
clay or water; or a light, dry cellar. A girl 
should wear a long-sleeved apron and a boy 
a pair of overalls. In such a workshop and 
costume you need not give a thought to clothes 
or carpets. 

Have a pitcher of water and a small bowl for 
the "slip" — or clay thinned with water until it 



114 ChikVs Rainy Day Book 

is about as thick as cream — which is almost as 
important as the chiy itself. 

When you are ready to l)cgin work, take a lump 
of clay about as large as a grape fruit; pound and 
knead it on the table. Next draw a strong wire 
through it, dividing it into halves. Press the 
two outer surfaces together and knead out the 
air-holes which you will see on the inner surfaces. 
Repeat this process several tinics, and all these 
air bubbles will finally be expelled. Suppose you 
begin with something simple — some tiny red build- 
ing bricks which will delight your small brother — 
perhaps even you may not feel to old to enjoy 
playing with such a "real" toy. 

Building Bricks 

Materials Required : About 3 pounds of clay, 

2 level boards, 15 by 20 inches. 

^ yard of white cheesecloth, 

A rolling pin, 

A foot rule, 

A strong, sharp knife. 

The clay of which these bricks are made should 
be well kneaded, and it should also have a great 
deal of what potters call "grog" mixed through 
it. "Grog" is baked clay pounded into small 
pieces — an old flower pot will do if you are using 



Clay Working 115 

flower-pot clay. Mixed with the unbaked clay it 
tempers it, that is, it makes it less likely to shrink 
and crack in baking. 

Cover a level board with a jjiece of wet white 
cheesecloth and tack it securely upon it. Mould 
the lump of clay into a square, by hand, lay it 
on the board and pound it with the thick part of 
your hand into an irregular square cake, then roll 
it with a rolling pin till it is about three-eighths of 
an inch thick. Have ready another board the 
same size and covered with wet cheesecloth, lay 
it on top of the clay sheet and reverse it so that 
the clay shall be transferred to this second board. 
Roll it again till quite smooth and set it away 
overnight. The next day take a foot rule ,and a 
sharp pencil and mark the clay sheet into bricks, 
two inches long by an inch wide. Cut them out 
with a strong, sharp knife, but do not lift them 
until they are thoroughly dry, which will be in 
three or four days. They should then be carefully 
packed and sent to the pottery to be fired. 

A Clay Whistle 

Materials Required: Ajncccofclayaboutthesizeofalemon, 
The wooden modelling tools, 
A bowl of slip, 
A pen knife. 



ii6 



CJiild's Kdijiv Pdv Bi'i^k 



The Mexicans mould tiny ^vhistles of clay, 
which are as siniple as possible to make and very 
fascinating to own. If you would like to make 

some for yourself :ind 
your friends this is the 
way to do it : Mould 
a small piece of clay 
into a cup shape about 
an inch across and 
three - eighths of an 
inch high. Put it in 
the air to drv for ten 




Fig. 04 



minutes. Xow roll a piece of clay, about the 
same size, on the table with the palms of both 
hands (near the base of the thumb), lightly, yet 
so as to make the clay roll entirch" around with 
each push. If the roll flattens from too hard press- 
ure, pat it till it is round again and roll it until 
it is of even thickness — about quarter of an inch 
in diameter. It is then flattened evenly by patting 
it with the fingers, one end is cut into a long point 
and the coil is started on edge with the narrow 
side up on the top of the cup of clay, whose rim 
must first be wet with slip. Bend the upper edge 
of the roll of clay in quite a little, to follow the 
shape shown in Fig. 04. Hold the long end of 



Clay W or kind, 



117 



JJo lliis wlicn^ the e(Jgcs of tlic coil come 



the cL'iy siri[) willi the left hand, wliilc;, with the 
tliumb .'irif] middle i'\n'^('r of the ri;(ht hand h(;ld 
on each side of the eoil to snj>]K>rt it, the ff^refin^cr 
I^resses it down firmly on the tojj of th(.' little cup. 
When the eoil has ^^on(; all tin; way around cut 
the end into a flat ])oint, wliieh will fit evenly in 
with the on(; at the; bc^innin^, and press the edges 
together with th(; flat j^art of the nail of your fore- 
finger 

against th(; rim of the 
cup. Make quick and 
firm yet short strokes 
of the n.'iil up and down, 
inside tlxj euj> and out. 
Then let it (]ry for a 
short time, about ten or 
fifteen minutes. Roll 
another coil in the 
same way and attach 
it, after brushing the 
top edge of the clay 
cup with slip, bending 
the top edge of the coil 
in very decidedly so as 

to leave only a small oi)ening at the top. The third 
coil is made in the same way, but put on so as to 




Fig. 65 



ii8 Child's Rainy Day Book 

make the sides go straight up hke the neck of a bottle 
or vase. One more straight coil completes the 
neck, and a piece of clay is then put across the 
top, closing it. After the whistle has dried for 
an hour or more a triangular hole is cut with a 
knife in the lower part (see Fig. 65), and a slit in 
the top. A hole is also made in the bottom. It 
should then be thoroughly dried for several days 
before sending it to be fired. Not every one of 
these whistles makes a good clear sound, but they 
are so easy to mould that you will not mind one 
or two unsuccessful attempts when you finally 
make one that blows clear and shrill. 

Clay Rattle 

Materials Required : A piece of clay about the size of an 

orange, 
A bowl of slip, 
The modelling tools. 

The Indians used to make clay rattles like the 
one shown in Fig. 66. It is formed like the whistle 
except that the cup-shaped piece which is made in 
starting should be an inch and three-quarters 
across and three-eighths of an inch high. 

Roll the strips of clay as already described and 
brush the edge of the cup-shaped piece with slip 



Clay Working 



119 



before attaching each coil. The handle should be 
about three inches long. Before closing the end 
of it drop in four or five clay pellets, about the 




Fig. 66 



size of small peas, which have been well dried in 
the sun. Then seal it with a piece of clay, let it 
dry for several days and send it to the pottery to 
be fired. 

Birds' Drinking Dish 



Materials Required: 



About 2 J pounds of clay, 

The wooden modelling tools, 

The oval tools of sheet steel, 

A bowl of slip, 

A low wide bowl, 

A small sponge, 

A knife, 

A ground glass slab about a foot 

square, 
A cloth in which some ground flint 

is tied. 



120 Child^s Rainy Day Book 

One of the best ways to attract the birds is to 
have a drinking dish, wide and generous, always 
ready for them on the lawn. This is of course 
taking for granted that you live at least a part of 
the year in the countr}^ Isn't it delightful to 
think that you can make such a dish with your 
own hands? It is a little more difficult than the 
other things you have made, but what of that — it 
will be worth the trouble if you can give a lawn 
party to the birds every day! As this is to be 
quite a large dish, you will need to have a mould 
to form it in, or at least to support the sides in 
starting. Choose some low, wide bowl or dish, 
one about two inches high and ten inches across 
the top. Have ready some powdered flint tied 
up in a piece of cotton cloth — 3^ou can buy it of 
dealers in potters' supplies or possibly at the 
pottery where your clay work is fired. This is to 
dust over the inside of the mould to prevent the 
clay from sticking to it. Take a lump of clay, 
about two and a half pounds, knead and pound 
it until all the air bubbles are worked out. A 
small piece of the clay is then patted out with the 
hands on a table or board and rolled smooth with 
a rolling pin until it is three-eighths of an inch 
thick and about two inches wider than the bottom 



Clay Working 121 

of the bowl you have chosen. Lay it in the bottom 
of the mould, which has first been dusted with 
ground flint. Press the clay lightly but carefully 
against the bottom and sides, making sure that it 
fits close against them. Then cut the top edge 
even with one of the wooden modelling tools. 
With the same tool cut crisscross strokes in this 
upper edge and wet it with slip, to prepare it for 
the first coil of clay, which is made and attached 
like those used in forming the whistle. These 
coils should, however, be larger — about an inch 
wide and long enough to go all around the bowl 
once. Join every coil in the same way, taking 
care to press each one against the sides of the 
mould as well as upon the coil beneath, and to 
smooth the inside of the bowl with your fingers 
and the modelling tools. After attaching a coil, 
let the bowl dry for ten or fifteen minutes — in 
the air, unless it is a cold day. Be careful never 
to let your clay work freeze or it will be spoiled. 
When the bowl is about two inches and a half 
high set it away overnight to dry. In the morning 
it will have shrunk so that it will slip easily out 
of the mould. Turn it bottom up on a table and 
wet the cracks between the coils with slip, then 
fill them in carefully with clay of the same stiffness 



122 Child's Rainy Day Book 

as that of which the bowl is made. Never put 
water or wet clay on a piece of clay work that is 
almost dry, or it will crack. After it has been set 
away for a few hours to harden, make it smooth 
and even as follows: First take the oval tool of 
sheet steel with rough edges, hold it in your right 
hand, not straight but bent to fit the curves of 
the outside of the bowl; with it scrape the large 
humps away from the sides of the bowl, making 
quick, light and short strokes in every direction — 
up, down, across and diagonally. When the largest 
humps have been removed, go over the bowl in 
the same way with the smooth-edged oval tool. 
Then take a damp sponge, one from which the 
water has all been squeezed, and pass it lightly 
over the bowl, smoothing it with the fingers. 
Make it as even and perfect as you can. 

Next the bottom is to be finished. Draw with 
a pencil a circle on the bottom of the bowl, about 
an inch in from the edge all around, and scrape, 
with the sharpest wooden tool, a layer of clay out 
of the bottom within the circle, so that the outside 
ring shall form a ridge about one-sixteenth of an 
inch above it. Now cut the top edge of the bowl 
as even as you can by eye, using a knife. Then 
make it perfectly even in this way: Pour a little 



Clay Working 123 

water on the ground-glass slab, hold the bowl 
bottom up and move it firmly yet quickly round 
and round on the wet surface and then quickly 
slide it off at the edge of the slab, before it has a 
chance to cling to the glass. If the bowl seems 
too heavy for you to hold securely in moving it 
about so quickly, it will be wise to let an older 
person do this for you. Then there will be nothing 
more to do but let it dry for a few days and send 
it to the pottery to be fired. 



Indoor Gardening 



CHAPTER VII 

INDOOR GARDENING 

A Rainy Day in October 

All summer long the out-of-door gardens kept 
us busy, planting, weeding and watering. When 
we had had a week or two of sunshiny weather 
we began to wish a cloud would sail over the blue 
sky and bring the rain our thirsty flowers needed. 
We could see the reason for rainy days in summer- 
time. Now, however, it is different; a rainy day 
in autumn is so cold and disagreeable. It settles 
down to work in a business-hke way — not like a 
summer shower, which has, all through, a hint of 
the sun behind the clouds. No, an autumn rain 
is chilly and gray and lasting, and the best way to 
forget it is to find something interesting to do 
indoors. 

Suppose we plan an indoor garden. There are 

the plants that were brought in from the garden 

the other day — geraniums, heliotropes, lobelias 

127 



128 Child's Rainy Day Book 

and begonias— all need our care and attention. 
A boy with a taste for woodworking can make a 
shelf and put up brackets in a window where the 
sun will reach them. Even a plant table may 
not prove too difficult for him. 

There is one particularly interesting thing that 
both boys and girls can do, and that is to plan 
Christmas gifts of budded or blossoming plants 
for their family and friends. How is it to be 
done? Why, by planting bulbs in October. You 
have seen bulbs, of course, at the florists; they 
are mostly dingy brown or yellow and look like 
onions. If anyone in the family had a garden 
last summer there will be sure to be catalogues 
of seeds and bulbs in the house, and you can begin 
by making a list of the bulbs you wish to send for. 
Such a number as you have to choose from — tulips, 
crocuses, lilies, hyacinths, narcissus, daffodils, and 
plenty more. They are not costly either. Hya- 
cinths can be bought for from six to fifteen cents 
each; these are the ordinary ones. Roman hya- 
cinths, wdiich have beautiful white flowers, cost 
only four or five cents. Chinese lily bulbs are 
more expensive ; one can be bought for ten cents 
or three for twenty-five cents, but they are large 
and the blossoms are so fragrant and beautiful 



Indoor Gardening 129 

that they are well worth it. These are grown 
among pebbles in a dish of water. They will 
look well in a glass dish or in a shallow pottery 
bowl — such as you can buy for ten or fifteen cents 
at a Japanese store. For hyacinths, tall, slender 
glasses are to be had at the florist's for fifteen 
cents. They come in several colours, but the 
dark green is best — and that reminds me that there 
is a case you can make of rattan and raffia around 
one of these glasses to enable you to hang it beside 
a window. This you can do some other rainy 
day. 

The Chinese lily bulbs are put into a dishful 
of tepid water which has a few small pieces of 
charcoal in it. A number of small stones are 
fitted around the bulbs to keep them upright and 
steady, and then they are put near a window 
where the sun comes. Hyacinths may be grown 
in the glasses or in flower pots, just as one chooses. 
A mixture of good soil from the garden and sand 
is best if they are to be grown in pots. Be careful 
in taking the garden soil to sift it through your 
fingers, making sure that no worms are lurking 
in it, to trouble the bulbs later on. Put stones 
for drainage and some pieces of charcoal at the 
bottom of each pot. The bulb is planted so that 



130 Child's Rainy Day Book 

about one-third of it is left above the earth. If 
it is to be grown in water, use rain water and fill 
the glass so that the base of the bulb will just 
touch it. However they are planted, in pots or 
in glasses, they should be left in a dark, cool place 
like an airy cellar, until they are rooted. This will 
take about two weeks for those in glasses and six 
for the potted hyacinths. If it is possible, bury 
the pots in the open ground about six inches deep, 
or cover them with soil, for about five weeks. 
They can then be put into the window garden. 
Consult the bulb catalogues for suggestions as to 
the care of your plants. 

Basket Case for a Hyacinth Glass 

Materials Required : A dark green hyacinth glass, 
2 weavers of No. 2 rattan, 
2 weavers of No. 2 black rattan, 
A bunch of copper red rafifia, 
A tapestry needle, No. 19. 

After you have bought your hyacinth glasses, 
and before the bulbs are put into them, you may 
like to make for each a simple case of basket work 
by which it can be hung against the window frame. 

It is made of rattan rings bound together with 
raffia of some colour that will look well with the 



Indoor Gardening 131 

hyacinth blossoms. A dark green glass with a 
covering of black and the natural-coloured rattan 
bound with copper-coloured raffia is a good com- 
bination, if the hyacinth is to be white. 

Make two rings of black rattan like those 
described in the directions for making a sponge 
bag (see Chapter IV). One should be large enough 
to slip over the glass, down to about half an inch 
from the bottom of it, the other to three inches 
from the bottom. This second ring must be made 
on the glass, as the flaring top will not allow so 
small a ring to slip over it. This will not be 
difficult to do. Tie the rattan around the glass 
just below where you wish it to be placed (about 
two and three-quarters inches from the bottom), 
then slip it up where the glass is narrower and 
twist the ends around this foundation ring twice, 
as shown in Fig. 22. This makes a ring of three 
circuits, the foundation ring counting as one. 
Make four rings of the natural-coloured rattan, 
each measuring two inches and a quarter in diam- 
eter on the inside. These are made with two 
circuits; that is, after tying the foundation ring 
the ends are twisted all the way around it once, 
instead of twice as the black ones were, and are 
cut just so that they will lap. Bind these four 



1^^2 



Child's Rai}iy Day Book 



rings together in a hollow square with bindings 
five-eighths of an inch long of raffia in buttonhole 
stitch (see Fig. 07). Fasten the ends of the 

rings by making the 
binding come over 
them. Slip this square 
over the top of the 
glass and down be- 
tween the two black 
rattan rings. Here 
each of the four light 
rings is bound with 
raffia in buttonhole 
stitch to the black 
ring above it. as well as to the one below. To make 
a loop to hang it by, tie a ring of black rattan around 
the neck of the glass, twist its ends twice around it, 
and then without cutting the ends tie them into 
another ring an inch and a quarter in diameter, in- 
side measurement, which stands out from the glass 
and forms a loop. This ring is made with two 
circuits. 




Fig. 67 



Grozoiiic Plants in Fibre 



Later on, in November and December, there 
may come days when you are kept indoors, and 



Indoor Gardening 133 

then perhaps you will Hkc to do some more garden- 
ing with bulbs. Shall we begin with the spring 
bulbs — tulips, crocuses and daffodils? It is won- 
derful, isn't it, to think of being able to plant 
them when out of doors the earth is covered thick 
with snow? This is how it is done: Buy from 
a florist or seedsman a fibre mixture which they 
sell for this purpose. Take a large tub or pail 
and put some fiVjre into it, add plenty of water 
and stir the fibre thoroughly with a stick. Let 
it remain in the water for two days, stirring it 
from time to time so that it shall get water soaked. 
It will then be ready for use. If you plan to give 
the plants away when they are in bud they should 
be started in jars or bowls that can be included 
in the gift. Japanese or Spanish pottery bowls 
can be bought for from ten to twenty-five cents 
each, and one of these with a daffodil or narcissus 
growing in it will make a delightful birthday gift 
for someone you love. If you are not planning 
to give them away, of course you will be able to 
collect about the house enough bowls and jars of 
china and pottery to hold them. Put a few pieces 
of charcoal at the bottom of each dish — these are 
to keep the water pure and the fibre wet. Put 
into each bowl some of the wetted fibre until it 



134 CJiihVs Rainy Day Book 

is about two or throe inches deep, depending on 
the depth of the bowl. Pkice the bulbs on the 
fibre so that they just touch and fill all in with 
the wet fibre. Put more fibre over them and 
press it gently dow^n and around them — not too 
hard. Fill the dish in until it is nearly solid. 
Now put the bowls away in a cellar or any dark 
but airy room where they will not get frostbitten 
and W'atch them day by day to see that the fibre 
does not get dry ; it must be kept moist but not 
soaking W'et. Be especially careful that the bulbs 
do not get dry. "When they are all rooted and 
have grown perhaps an inch, bring the bulbs into 
a lighter room and let them have plenty of air. 
Put them on the window sill or even in the garden 
in the middle of the day, if it is not too cold, and 
as they begin to show some buds water regularly 
and often. 

Pla)iti)ig Luioors in February 

As early as February you can begin to plan your 
out-of-door flower garden and start some seeds 
indoors. Tuberous begonias, Canterbury bells, 
verbenas, single dahlias, scarlet sage or salvia, 
tufted pansies and cosmos can all be started now. 



Indoor Gardening 



135 



First of all you will need vSome flats or low wooden 

boxes — they should be about three inches deep 

and not too large to handle. If it is possible to 

get such shallow boxes at your grocer's so much 

the better, otherwise you can have a soap box or 

two sawed down to the required height. If they 

have no cracks or holes for 

drainage, bore some and partly 

cover them with pieces of an 

old flower pot, rounded side 

up. Put pebbles or other 

rough material in the bottom 

of the box. Now you are 

ready for the soil. Get good, 

rich loam from the garden 

and sift it into the boxes. 

You can then begin planting. 

The large seeds should be 

planted about half an inch dee^J, medium sized ones 

as deep as four times their own width; the very 

small ones are just pressed into the earth, and the 

smallest should have a piece of glass placed over 

the box so that they will not dry out entirely. 

Wet the soil until it is quite moist and press it 

with a level board after planting. Set the boxes in 

a sunny window, one that faces south or southeast. 




Fig. 68 



136 Child^s Rainy Day Book 

and keep them moist, but not wet, with a bulb 
sprinkler (see Fig. 68). 

March Planting 

This blustery month of bad weather out of doors 
you can have a delightful time with your indoor 
garden. The bulbs you started in fibre should 
be in bloom by this time, and while you are enjoy- 
ing them you can start some flower seeds for your 
out-of-door garden. 

This is the time to plant what are called annuals 
— that is, plants that live just a year — like 
batchelors'-buttons, sweet peas, nasturtiums, four- 
o'clocks, marigolds and zinnias. Use flats or 
shallow wooden boxes, like those already described, 
to plant in. Choose good garden soil and, before 
filling the boxes, heat it in the oven, very hot — 
this will kill the weed seeds. Sow the seeds in 
rows an inch and a half apart and three-quarters 
of an inch apart in the row. When all the seeds 
are up, thin the little plants out so that they will 
be an inch and a half apart in the row. Put 
them in a sunny window as close to the glass as 
possible and keep the shades rolled high. If you 
do not give them enough sun they will become 




A little garden for a little girl 



Indoor Gardening 137 

thin and spindly — like children who never go out. 
Turn the boxes now and then so that all sides will 
get the sunlight. You will need to put some 
labels into each box, bearing the names of the 
seeds that are planted there. The best ones are 
made from the covers of old grape baskets. Cut 
them into strips, write on each the name of the 
seed and the date, and stick it into the earth. 

Gradually as the weather gets warmer you can 
give the little plants more air by opening the 
windows, and later by putting them out of doors 
in some sheltered but sunny spot. When there is 
no longer any danger from frost, the boxes can be 
set out of doors day and night, only taking them 
in in case of a severe storm. 

The seedlings may need to be separated and 
transplanted indoors before it is warm enough to 
set them in the out-of-door garden. Common 
grape baskets do very well for this purpose and 
hold about a dozen little plants — flats may also 
be used. Allow as much space between the seed- 
lings as possible, for if they are too close the roots 
will twine about each other and make it very hard 
to transplant them later on. When they are 
large enough to be transplanted put them into a 
basin of lukewarm water and plant them in their 



138 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



new box one at a time. Do not put them in the 
sun for a few days, but keep them shaded until 
thev have taken root. 



Starting Gourd Mnes in the Indoor Garden 



Of course you have seen gourds, perhaps not 
growing, but surely you know how they look when 
dried. Hard, smooth-shelled things of a beautiful 
golden brown colour, they grow in the strangest 
shapes. Some are round or oval with a queer 

twisted stem (see 
Fig. 69). They have 
many uses — to hold 
the stockings open 
and smooth (so that 
grandma can darn 
them easily), as bird 
houses, match holders, 
and even for drink- 
ing cups. 

They are the fruit 
of a vine which 
would be charming 
to train on a trellis or arbour in vour out-of- 
door garden, and then when harvest time came 




Fig. 69 



Indoor Gardening 139 

you would have the interesting gourds to dry 
and use as you chose. 

If you would like to raise them, sow the seeds 
in shallow wooden boxes indoors in March. Plant 
them a quarter of an inch deep, and when the 
little plants crowd one another and are strong 
enough to transplant remove them to larger 
boxes and plant them six inches apart. When 
planting the vines out of doors in May or June 
put plenty of manure about them and give them 
ample space. If the vines bear many gourds, 
and all small ones, pinch off some and the others 
will develop better. Do not pick the gourds until 
they are quite ripe ; that is, when they begin to 
look slightly yellow. They need plenty of hot 
sun in order to come to perfection. Leave them 
as long as possible on the vines, only being careful 
that they are not touched with frost. In the 
South they are sometimes left on the vines all 
winter. 

After picking them, hang them in an airy place 
in the house or out of doors. Leave a little of 
the vine on each one and they can then be hung 
by strings tied to these handles. If you follow 
these few rules your gourds should dry smooth 
and hard. 



I40 ChihVs Rainy Day Book 

Hoiv to Start Lavender Indoors 

Do you know the smell of lavender — that sweet, 
refreshing perfume that clings to some of grand- 
mother's treasures of linen and embroidery? One 
catches a whiff of it in old gardens sometimes, 
and it is always welcome. You can buy the seed 
from a florist or seedsman — Lavandula vera is 
what the true English lavender is called, and that 
is best. If it cannot be had, Lavandtda spica is 
next best. It takes time to raise either, but it 
will be such an addition to your out-of-door gar- 
den that you will not regret the time spent. About 
the first of March the lavender seed should be 
sown, in window boxes or flats. Make shallow 
drills with your finger, drop the seed in and cover 
lightly. Sprinkle them every day with your bulb 
sprinkler until they come up. When the little 
plants each have four leaves they may be trans- 
planted. Before starting to transplant them they 
should be thoroughly wet. Set them five inches 
apart. In the winter protect the plants with 
litter — leaves, straw, etc. — six inches deep. The 
next year, in March, they should be set in rows 
three feet apart. 

When the plants are in full bloom the sprigs are 



Indoor Gardening 141 

cut, and then dried in a cool, darkened room or 
closet. Lay them on paper so as to save all the 
blossoms. The lavender flowers may be made 
into the daintiest of sachets by filling with them 
sheer linen bags or pale lavender silk ones. 

The sprigs that are left after the blossoms have 
fallen may be used like Chinese incense to sweeten 
a room, by lighting the blossom end of a single 
piece and letting it burn in a vase or incense holder. 



Gifts and How to Make Them 



CHAPTER VIII 

GIFTS AND now TO MAKE THEM 

It is wonderful what your head and hands can 
do when you begin to plan gifts for family and 
friends at Christmas, birthdays and the in-between 
times when "un-birthday presents" — as "Alice in 
Wonderland" called them — are so welcome. But 
I am sure you know the breathless feeling of having 
to make or buy a long list of Christmas presents 
with only two weeks or so in which to accomplish it. 
Why not keep a gift box or drawer, where you can 
pack away the pretty things you take such pleasure 
in making on dull days all the year round ? There 
are ever so many things — games, toys, baskets and 
beadwork — which you will find in other chapters — 
that will help to fill this gift box, and I am going to 
tell you about some others. 

There are several things to think of in planning 
a gift. It should be something that will be within 
your means, something that is worth giving, how- 
ever small — not "trash"; but what is most im- 

I4S 



146 Child's Rainy Day Book 

portant of all is that it shall really please the one 
who receives it. If it can be a lasting pleasure so 
much the better. 

Suppose you try keeping a notebook; begin it 
now, and write down the little things that you hear 
the family wish for during the year — tiny things, 
maybe, but just what they want. For instance, 
Aunt Helen, who writes, never has enough pencils 
— her nieces and nephews know why. Father is 
unable to find an express tag when he wants one, 
because he has no case to hang close beside his desk. 
Joe says he wishes someone would make him a 
chamois cover for his new knife — it is getting 
scratched already; and mamma cannot find that 
recipe for potted pigeons that she cut from the 
paper Saturday evening. What a number of 
entries you will be able to make in your gift book! 
See how it reads: 

Aunt Helen: One dozen pencils. 

Father: Leather tag case and tags. 

Mother: A blank book with her newspaper 
recipes pasted in. 

Joe: A chamois knife case. 

And this is just a beginning. When you visit 
your friends you will soon see or hear what little 
things will please them. Then you can begin col- 



Gijts and How to Make Them 147 

lecting the materials for your gift box, and when a 
rainy day comes what pleasant hours you will 
spend. 

Let us begin with the 

Beaded Knife Case 

Materials Required : Some scraps of chamois skin in the 

natural or another colour, 

I skein No. 4-0 beads in a colour that 
will harmonise with the leather, 

I E bead of the same colour, 

A spool of letter A sewing silk the 
colour of the leather, 

A No. II needle. 

One of the simplest and prettiest gifts you can 
make is this beaded knife case. If you have made 
the Indian costume described in Chapter V. you 
will have plenty of scraps of chamois left. Other- 
wise you can buy a small chamois skin in the natu- 
ral colour, or, if you prefer another colour, skins of 
beautiful tints may be bought. Red is very effec- 
tive and not as costly as some others. In buying a 
skin, choose a colour that you will not tire of, for 
you will be able to make so many small things of it 
that it will be well to have a colour you will always 
like ; either red or green or a soft brown that is not 
too light will be a good choice. 



148 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



Fig. 70 



From a piece of cardboard cut the patterns shown 

in Figs. 70 and 71. If the case is for a penknife, the 

larger one (Fig. 70) should measure one inch wide 

by four and one-eighth inches long, 

nand the other should be the same 
width but two and three-quarters 
inches long. Cut two pieces of 
chamois from these patterns, lay 
the smaller one against 
the larger, with the 
rounded ends of both 
together and the edges 
of the sides fitted 
evenly, and baste them 
so. Now start at the 
top left-hand edge of 
the smaller piece, 
where it comes against 
the edge of the larger 
one, and sew the edges 
together with the 
stitch shown in Fig. 72. This is how it is done: 
Thread a No. 1 1 needle with sewing silk the colour 
of the chamois. Fasten the end by sewing through 
and through the edges of the case. String three 
beads and make one over-and-over stitch through 




Fig. 71 



Gifts and How to Make Them 



149 



both edges of the case, bringing the needle out at 
about one-eighth of an inch from where it started. 
Run the needle up through the third bead, string 
two more, make another stitch, run the needle up 
through the last bead strung, and so on. When 







Fig. 72 



you have gone all the way around the double edge, 
continue the stitch across the top of the smaller 
piece and around the rounded top of the larger. 
Next a loop must be made to fasten the case. Hold 
a small pencil at the top of the larger piece of 
chamois close to the rounded edge, and, starting 
about an eighth of an inch from the centre of this 
end, fasten an end of a needleful of sewing silk; 



150 Child's Rainy Day Book 

take a stitch around the pencil and in at one- 
eighth of an inch the other side of the centre. Take 
six or eight stitches back and forth in this way. 
This will make a loop, which should be covered with 
buttonhole stitches. Now slip the knife into the 
case, turn the flap (the rounded edge of the larger 
piece) down and mark the place to sew the large 
bead over which the loop is to fit, in order to fasten 
it. Sew an E bead the colour of the smaller beads 
at this place, bring the loop over it, and the case is 
complete. 

Needle Book of Flowered Silk 

Materials Required : A piece of flowered silk or ribbon 5 

inches long by 3 J inches wide, 
A piece of plain-coloured ribbon the 

same size, 
A piece of white flannel 10 inches 

long by 7 inches wide, 
J yard of narrow ribbon the colour 

of the silk, 
A spool of sewing silk the same colour, 
A piece of bristol board 10 by 7 

inches. 

The Shakers make needle books of fine straw 
cloth, that are so dainty and yet simple that they 
are well worth copying. Fig. 73 shows the shape 



Gifts and How to Make Thent 



151 



in which the cover of the book is cut. It may 
be made of two pieces of bristol board; one 
covered with flowered silk or ribbon, the other 
with plain silk that will harmonise with the flow- 
ered. The two are then 
basted together and 
sewed over and over. 




Two pieces of flannel 
are cut the same shape, 
Fig. 73 but about half an inch 

smaller all the way 
around. These are laid inside the cover, which 
is then bent exactly at its centre so that both 
ends will come evenly together. A hole is punched 
through both sides of the cover and the flannel at 
about half an inch in from the edge and quarter of 
an inch from the doubled middle of the cover. 



152 Child's Rainy Day Book 

Another hole is made on the other side of it and a nar- 
row ribbon threaded in a bodkin, or ribbon needle, 
is brought in through one hole, across the back and 
out through the other. The ends are then tied 
in a pretty bow (see Fig. 74), which finishes it. 

Sweet Clover Bags 

Materials Required : All the white sweet clover that a little 

child can gather, 
Some pretty cotton cloth, 
A needle and thread, 
Scissors. 

Did you know that the white sweet clover that 
grows in long spike-shaped sprays on low bushes 
along the wayside is even more fragrant when it is 
dried? Gather some this summer, and spread it 
where it will dry in the sun, turning it often. Strip 
the blossoms from the stems, and when a rainy day 
comes you can make with them some gifts that will 
be welcome wherever they go. Keep the flowers 
in a covered box till you are ready to use them, 
then make linen, or even pretty white cotton, bags 
about ten inches long by six wide. Fill them with 
the dried clover, sew up the ends securely, and they 
will be ready to send to grandmothers, aunts and 
cousins, to make their linen closets fragrant. A 
little pillow of white cotton filled with these flowers, 



Gifts and How to Make Them 1^3 

with a pretty outer case of fine linen, makes a de- 
lightful gift for an invalid friend. 

Eyeglass Cleaner 

Materials Required : Several sheets of soft white tissue 

paper, 
A piece of green or brown leather 4 

inches wide by 6 J inches long, 
A strip of leather 15 inches long by 
I of an inch wide, 

1 skein No. 3-0 beads, 

2 large beads of the same colour, 
An awl or punch. 

One of your friends who wears eyeglasses was 
told by a wise person that the best thing with which 
to clear her glasses was — what do you think ? Not 
a handkerchief or a piece of chamois, but soft tissue 
paper. "That is simple enough, I'm sure," said 
she ; but it wasn't, for whenever she wanted a piece 
of tissue paper it didn't happen to be near, so she 
used a handkerchief or chamois most of the time. 
She found the tissue paper was much better, how- 
ever, and wondered why children who don't know 
what to give to friends who wear eyeglasses or 
spectacles, don't give them a pad of tissue paper to 
hang by the dressing table or some such convenient 
place. True, its use would have to be explained, 
for not many people know that tissue paper is such 



154 Child's Rainy Day Book 

a good cleaner of glasses; but when they have tried it 
they will be really grateful for the helpful little gift. 
Cut soft white tissue paper in sheets four inches 
wide by six and one-half long, and make a cover of 
green or brown leather the same size. Punch two 
holes at the top of the cover, each about half an 
inch down from the top and one inch in from the 
side. Lay the cover on the pile of tissue paper 
sheets and rtm an awl or punch through the holes 
in the cover, making holes in the same places 
through the tissue paper. Cut a strip of leather 
about one-quarter of an inch wide and fifteen 
inches long, thread it in a bodkin, run it through 
the hole on the right of the cover, through the 
sheets of tissue paper and out of the hole on the 
left of the cover. Here it is tied in a bow, leaving 
a long loop at the back to hang it by. A large bead 
of a colour that will look well with the leather may 
be strung on each end of the bow and a knot tied to 
keep it from falling off. If you choose, the edges 
of the cover may be worked with the bead stitch 
shown in Fig. 54. 

A German Wonder Ball 

Materials Required : i hank of single zephyr worsted of 

some pretty colour, 
Several tiny gifts. 



Gifts and How to Make Them 155 

One 01 the most delightful of gifts can be planned 
by a little girl of boy for a friend who is learning to 
knit. This is the wonder ball. It is one of the 
many good ideas that come to us from Germany — 
the land of knitting. 

Buy a hank of worsted of some pretty colour 
and a number of tiny gifts — a thimble, a wee pack- 
age of chocolate, the smallest of baskets and any 
other little things you can think of. Start winding 
the worsted around the very choicest gift — so that it 
shall be at the centre — then by degrees, as you 
wind, lay the other gifts on the ball and cover them 
with the worsted. Your little friend should be 
told to knit till all the presents are found. 

Pin Case for Travelling 

Materials Required : A piece of flowered silk or ribbon 8 

inches long by 5 inches wide, 
A. piece of plain-coloured silk 8 inches 

long by 5 J inches wide, 
A piece of cotton wadding 7I inches 

long by 4 J inches wide, 
J yard of ribbon | inch wide, the 

colour of the silk, 
A spool of sewing silk the same 

colour. 

The friend who travels will be glad to have a case in 
which to keep her pins. It is very simple to make. 



1 56 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



Cut from any pretty piece of silk or velvet a strip 
five inches wide by eight long, or a piece of five-inch 
flowered ribbon the same length will do even better. 
Another strip of thin silk — white or some colour 
that will look well with the first piece — should be 
cut the same size, if the flowered piece is of silk; 



??????? ?TTf T 
I I t I t I I 




I I 




Fig. 75 

if it is of ribbon, cut the lining silk half an inch 
wider. A piece of the cotton wadding that comes 
in sheets is cut half an inch smaller in length and 
width than the others. Half a yard of narrow 
ribbon to match the silk, and a spool of sewing silk 
will also be needed, and if you like you can give a 
still more festive touch to the case by filling it with 
fancy pins, those with pearl or gun-metal heads. 
First baste the strip of cotton w^adding on the 



Gifts and How to Make Them 157 

lining silk through the centre, then turn quarter of 
an inch of the edge of the silk up over the wadding 
and baste it securely around all four sides. Now 
baste the flowered silk cover against the other side 
of the wadding, turning in all rough edges, and 
making sure that the edges of the lining and cover 
are quite even, one above the other. Sew them 
together over and over, as neatly as possible, with 
the coloured sewing silk, and stitch the ribbon at 
its centre to the middle of one end of the case to 
form strings (see Fig. 75). After it is filled with 
the pretty pins and rolled up, bring the ribbons 
around it and tie them in a dainty little bow. 

A Case for Tape 

Materials Required : A piece of flowered or figured cot- 
ton 8 inches long by 4^ inches wide, 

A piece of plain-coloured cotton the 
same size, 

f yard of ^-inch ribbon the colour of 
the cotton, 

A package of India tape, 

A bodkin, 

A spool of cotton. 

A case that is made in very much the same way 
as the one for pins is used for holding pieces of tape 
of various widths. It is something that almost any 



1S8 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



aunt would be delighted to have for her work 
basket. 

Packages of what is called India tape are sold 
at many of the dry goods shops for five or ten 
cents. They contain bunches of tape of different 
widths, a yard or two in each bunch. Pieces 




Fig. 76 



of pretty cotton, one figured or flowered, the other 
plain, will do quite as well as silk to make the case. 
Then you will need a simple metal or bone bodkin 
and three-quarters of a yard of narrow ribbon or 
silk braid. That is all except a spool of cotton, 
needle and scissors. 

Cut a piece of plain-coloured cotton eight inches 
long by four and a half wide, and lay the bunches of 
tape all along it, about an inch apart. Now lay a 



Gifts and How to Make Them 159 

piece of half-inch wide ribbon or silk braid along 
above the bunches of tape and exactly at the 
middle of the strip of cotton, as shown in Fig. 76. 
Pin the ribbon to the cotton lining at each side of 
every piece of tape, making a loop that is large 
enough for each bunch to slip through without pull- 
ing the cotton lining. A little loop should also be 
made just large enough to hold the bodkin. Now take 
out the bunches of tape and stitch the ribbon to the 
lining where it is pinned. Cut a piece of flowered 
cotton the same size as the lining, and, turning in 
the edges of both pieces for a quarter of an inch all 
the way round, lay them together with the raw 
edges in and baste them evenly one above the 
other. Next sew them together over and over all 
around. Stitch the middle of a piece of ribbon 
sixteen inches long to the middle of the right end 
of the case, slip the bunches of tape and the bodkin 
through their loops, roll the case and tie the ribbon 
strings around it. It will then be ready to pop 
into your gift box. 

A Braided Raffia Lamp Mat 

Materials Required : A bunch of raffia, 

A bunch of coloured raffia, 
A tapestry needle, No. 19. 



i6o Child's Rainy Day Book 

A lamp mat will be a welcome gift to mamma or 
even to your big brother for his room at college. 
The simplest one to make is of braided raffia. Take 
six pieces of raffia and tie them together at one end. 
Fasten this end to a nail or chair back, at a con- 
venient height. If the raffia is dampened a little 




Fig. 77 

it will work more smoothly. Now braid it into a 
three-stranded plait, using two pieces for each 
strand. When a new piece is needed lay it above 
the end of the old one and continue. The ends are 
cut close after the braid is finished. You will need 
a great deal of this braided raffia — about ten yards 
of the natural colour and two or three of the 
coloured — but do a little at a time and you will 
find it pleasant work. When you have enough 
prepared, thread a No. 19 tapestry needle with a 



Gifts and How to Make Them i6i 

split strand of raffia and bind the end of it tightly 
around the end of the natural-coloured braid, 
taking a stitch or two through it to secure the 
binding. Now cut off the knot (which tied all six 
pieces together in starting) close to the binding and 
coil the braid into a tiny round centre. Run the 
needle through this centre back and forth, then 
start coiling the second row, bringing the long end 
of the braid around with its edge under the outer 
edge of the centre. The needle is run in slanting 
from right to left (see Fig. 77), then out from right 
to left, so that the stitches form a V within the coil. 
The whole mat is coiled and sewed in this way, 
except that when the last row of natural-coloured 
braid is stitched on, the end is bound as it was at 
the beginning and brought gradually in under the 
mat, where it is sewed securely. Be sure that you 
have finished a row before you end it off. This you 
can tell by counting the rows, from the centre out, 
on all sides of the nmat. An end of the coloured 
braid (which is to form the border of the mat) is 
also bound with a split strand of coloured raffia 
and sewed against the under side of the mat. It 
is then sewed around like the rest of the mat, 
except that in the first row you will have to take 
great care to run the stitches through the natural- 



1 62 Child's Rainy Day Book 

coloured braid so that they will not show. Be sure 
to finish the border at the part of the mat where it 
was started. 

Sewed Raffia Lamp Mat 

Materials Required : 1 2 or 1 4 yards of cotton clothesline 

or window cord, 
A bunch of raffia, 
A bunch of coloured raffia, 
A No. 19 tapestry needle. 

A soft, thick lamp mat that is beautiful to look 
at and very useful is quite simply made as follows: 

Bu)^ twelve or fourteen yards of cotton clothes- 
line. It is white and smooth, and twisted like the 




Fig. 78 



fibre clothesline. Or there is a soft cotton window 
cord that is even better, because it is smoother. 
Thread a No. 19 tapestry needle with a strand of 
raffia, putting the thick, or root, end through the 
needle. Lay the other end of the raffia on the 



Gijts and How to Make Them 



163 




Fig. 79 



rope, with its tip turning toward the long end. 
Starting at the very end of the rope, wind the long 
end of raffia around it (and its own short end) 
for an inch or more. 
Then coil it into the 
smallest ring you pos- 
sibly can, bring the 
long end of the raffia 
around, up through 
the centre of the ring 
and around again, 
taking in two coils 
— the one of which the ring was made and a second 
one made by bringing the long end of the rope around 
the ring (see Fig. 78). The first and second coils are 
covered in this way with a simple over-and-over 
stitch, which binds them together, passing around 
both and up through the centre. With the third coil 
the real stitch begins. It is an Indian one called the 
Figure Eight Stitch, The needle passes under the 
third coil (that is, the long end of rope which you 
are coiling around), around, over it, under the coil 
below, around, over it and up again, under and 
around the third coil — drawing the coils close 
together. The whole mat is sewed in this way. If 
you choose, you can work a design of coloured rings 



164 Child's Rainy Day Book 

as a border or a solid border of the coloured raffia. 
Fig. 79 shows how the new pieces of raffia are 
added. Cross the old and new ends on the rope, 
bring the needle threaded with the new strand 
under the lower coil, out in front, over the lower 
coil, under and around the upper one, and so on. 

DoWs Hat of Raffia 

Materials Required: A bunch of raffia, 

A tapestry needle, No. 19. 

How would you like to make a doll's raffia hat, as 
a birthday gift for one of your special friends — one 
that will fit her favourite doll? Of course it is to 
be a surprise, but you will have plenty of oppor- 
tunities to measure the dolly's head. The raffia 
comes in so many colours that you will be able to 
choose one to match a special gown. When you 
are ready to begin, make five yards or more of 
braided raffia as described in the directions for the 
braided raffia lamp mat, and start the hat in the 
same way as the mat was begun, except that an 
oval instead of a round centre is formed. When 
you have made a large enough top for the crown, 
bring the coil of braid around, with its upper edge 
a little above the middle of the row just finished, 
drawing it quite tight, and in sewing make the 



Gifts and How to Make Them 165 

stitches run like the twists in the braid — so that 
they will show as little as possible. The next row 
is sewed in the same way, and the next, until the 
crown is the height you wish. In starting the brim 
flatten the braid and bring it around more loosely. 
Be sure that each row of braid is sewed half way 
under the row to which you are stitching it. Make 
the whole brim in this way, keeping the braid 
always flat and loose so that it shall not pucker. 
When it is as large as you wish, you can make the 
edge roll slightly by drawing the last two rows quite 
tight as you sew them on. Fasten the end of the 
braid at the back of the hat by binding it with the 
raffia in your needle and stitching it firmly on the 
under side of the brim. 

Leather Tag Case 

Materials Required : A piece of heavy leather 3 \ inches 

wide by 6^ inches long, 
A piece of leather 3^ inches wide by 

4I inches long, 
Some strips of leather \ inch wide, 
Several kindergarten beads of a 

colour to match or harmonise with 

the leather, 
A punch to make round holes, 
2 dozen baggage tags. 
Scissors, 
A bodkin. 



i66 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



One of the best presents a child can give to his 
father, or a man friend, is a leather case full of tags. 
Things made of leather are so handsome and 
durable that you cannot do better, in buying 

material for your gift 
box, than to invest in 
a skin of heavy leather 
in the natural colour, 
red or green. Another 
useful thing for your 
-gift work will be a 
punch with which to 
make round holes in 
leather or cardboard. 
You will then only 
need a pair of scissors, 
a pencil and a few beads in order to be equipped not 
only to make this tag case but several other charm- 
ing gifts. Measure and mark with pencil on the 
leather two pieces, one six inches and one-quarter 
long by three inches and one-half wide, the other 
four and one-half inches long by three and one-half 
inches wide, and cut them out carefully. Also 
cut a number of strips of leather a quarter of an 
inch wide and as long as the skin will allow. On 
each corner of the smaller piece of leather mark a 




Leather Tag Case 



Gifts and How to Make Them 167 

dot three-sixteenths of an inch in from the edge. 
Then make three more dots the same distance from 
the edge and about an inch apart on each side, and 
two near the bottom, the same distance from the 
edge and each other. Now with your punch make 
holes through these dots. Lay this piece of leather 
on the larger one, with the lower edges and sides 
together, and with a pencil mark through the holes 
on the piece below. Dots are also made three- 
sixteenths of an inch in from the edge at each of the 
upper corners of the larger piece of leather, two about 
an inch apart at the middle of the top edge, and one 
more on either side, half way between the dots at the 
upper corners and the upper ones of those already 
marked from the smaller piece of leather. All 
these dots have holes punched through them. Now 
lay the pieces together, the smaller one on top, 
with its lower edge and sides fitting exactly with 
the bottom and sides of the larger piece. Starting 
at the upper right-hand corner of the smaller piece, 
bring a bodkin threaded with a long strip of leather 
up through the holes in both pieces, then up through 
the next hole below in both pieces, lacing them 
together all the way around to the other side. 
Here the bodkin is slipped off and the end is knotted 
with another strip of leather. On this new strip 



1 68 Child^s Rainy Day Book 

the bodkin is threaded and brought up through 
each hole in succession along the left side, the top 
and down the right side of the large piece of leather. 
It stops where the lacing began, and the ends are 
there tied together. A large bead is slipped on 
each of these ends and one on each of the two ends 
on the opposite side, and a knot is made at the 
tip to keep the bead from falling off. To make 
a loop to hang it by, thread the bodkin with a 
short strip of leather, run it down through the left 
of the two middle holes at the top of the case and 
out again through the right one. Cut it the length 
you wish the loop to be and thread a bead on each 
end, making a knot at the tip to keep the bead on. 

Beaded Leather Pen Wiper 

Materials Required : Two circular pieces of leather about 

3^ inches in diameter, 

3 circular pieces of natural-coloured 
chamois about 3 inches in diame- 
ter, 

A strip of leather \ inch wide and 
\ yard long, 

I skein of beads, No. 3-0, 

I skein of beads. No, 3-0, of another 
colour. 

A pen wiper is such a usual present that you 
may think no one would care for it, but look 



Gifts and How to Make Them 169 

around and you will surely find a big brother or 
sister, or perhaps a friend, who hasn't one. And 
this is such an interesting pen wiper to make. It 




Fig. 80 

is very simple, just two round pieces of leather and 
three of chamois The top piece of leather has the 
design shown in Fig. 80 worked on it in beads of a 
colour that will look well with the leather you have 
chosen. Black and crystal beads will harmonise 



1 7© Child'' s Rainy Day Book 

with red leather or dark-green crystal and opaque 
white. If the leather is not so bright a colour, the 
beads may be more gay. Work the design with 
the stitch described in the directions for making an 
Indian beaded shirt in Chapter V., bringing the 
strings of beads farther apart at the outer edge of 
the circle than on the inside. When the beadwork 
is done, put the pieces of leather together with the 
chamois ones between, mark two dots a quarter of 
an inch apart at the centre of the top, punch holes 
through the dots and then through the other pieces 
of chamois and leather. A bodkin threaded with a 
strip of leather is then run down through one hole, 
up through the other, and the ends are knotted 
together and cut quite short. 

Baby's Worsted Ball 

Materials Required : A piece of thin cardboard a foot 

square, 
Odds and ends of worsted, 
A worsted needle, 
A piece of string, 
Scissors. 

We have not made any plans, as yet, for a gift for 
the baby. Suppose we make him a great, fluffy 
worsted ball. Among your mother's odds and ends 



Gijts and How to Make Them 



171 



of worsted you will find plenty of gay colours that 
will be exactly what you want. Then you will 
need some thin cardboard, or bristol board. On 
this mark two circles, five inches in diameter, and 
at the centre of each of these, two smaller circles an 




Fig. 81 



Fig. 82 



inch and a quarter in diameter. Cut out the two 
large circles and the small holes within them. You 
will then have two circular pieces of cardboard with 
a round hole in the centre of each, making it look 
like a cookie. Take a strong but slender piece of 
string about a foot long and lay it around the hole 



1^2 Child's Rainy Day Book 

in the centre of one of the pieces of cardboard, with 
the ends coming together below the outer edge 
(see Fig. 8i). Lay the other piece of cardboard 
directly over the first one and hold them firmly 
together (see Fig. 82) while with a needle threaded 
with worsted you sew around and around the 
cardboard rings, bringing the needle each time 
through the hole in the centre and around the outer 
edge of both rings. When a needleful of worsted 
is finished leave the end hanging and start another. 
Keep on until the hole in the middle is quite filled 
up and the whole thing looks like a puffy cushion. 
Now take a sharp pair of scissors and cut the layers 
of worsted at the outer edge of the pasteboard rings 
all the way around. Do this carefully but quickly, 
and be sure not to cut the two ends of string, for 
now is the time to use them. They are tied 
together just as tightly as possible, and as close to 
the centre. The cardboard rings are then slipped 
out, leaving a soft, fluffy ball of many colours. 
Clip off the uneven ends of worsted here and there, 
and the ball will be complete. 

Raffia sewed in the same way over tiny cardboard 
rings, then tied and cut, makes fascinating little 
pompons for a doll's hat. 



Paper Flowers and Toys 



CHAPTER IX 



PAPER FLOWERS AND TOYS 



It sometimes seems, on a rainy day, as if there 
was nothing to do because you have not the ma- 
terials that are needed for certain occupations — 
but there is always paper. You 
may not, of course, have all 
the things that are used in making 
tissue-paper flowers, unless you have 
been so thrifty as to buy them, 
looking forward to just such a 
time as this. But if you cannot 
make the flowers at once, you can 
decide which ones you wish to do 
and plan a list of the materials 
you will need. Then there are 
numbers of things that you can 
fashion from water-colour paper, 
or even heavy note paper and cardboard; so 
let us get out pencil and paper, paste and 
scissors, and begin. 

175 




Fig. 83 



176 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



Materials Required : 



2 large sheets of linen writing paper 
I sheet of deep-^^ellow tissue paper, 
I sheet of olive-green tissue paper, 
A little cotton batting, 
A long wire stem, 
A tube of paste, 
Pen and ink. 
Scissors, 



How would you like to make a game of your very 
own with which you and your brothers and sisters or 
some of your friends can play? It is 
quite simple — just a great paper daisy 
with a slip of paper pasted on the 
under side of each petal. Upon each 
slip is written a sort of conundrum, 
the answer to which is the name of a 
plant or flower. If you can get a real 
daisy for a model, so much the better. 
Fold a large sheet of linen writing 
paper diagonally so that you will have 
a square eight by eight inches. Bend 
it over again diagonally, and then again 
and again, so that it will have been 
folded four times in all. Now draw the 
outline of a daisy petal upon the folded 
paper (see Fig. 83), and cut it out 
all the thicknesses. This will give 



Fig. 84 



through 



Paper Flowers and Toys 177 

you a sixteen-petaled daisy. The centre has 
next to be made. Cut from deep -yellow tissue 
paper eight circles three inches across, six circles 
two inches, and six an inch across. This is 
aesily done by folding the paper into as many 
thicknesses as you wish circles of each size, 
so that you can cut through them all at once. 
Before separating the circles cut the edges into 
a fine fringe about three-eighths of an inch 
deep. Fold a piece of olive-green tissue paper 
in the same way as the white paper for the 
petals was folded, but once more, and cut it 
like Fig. 84. This is for the calyx. Next cut 
some slips of paper just large enough to be 
pasted on the underside of the petals and write 
on each a number and a conundrum from the 
following list: 

1. A public building in Philadelphia. 

2. A plant that rhymes with pansy. 

3. A foolish wild animal. 

4. A wise man. 

5. Fit for a king. 

6. A girl's name. 

7. A plant for Sundays. 

8. For thirsty folk. 



178 Child's Rainy Day Book 

9. Several droves of sheep. 

10. Part of a pet. 

11. Two girls' names. 

12. Something that we know flies, though no 
one has ever seen it. 

13. A rosy athlete. 

14. A necessary article of food and a piece of 

china. 

15. A girl's name and a metal. 

16. An animal and a covering for the hand. 

The following key, or answers to the conundrums, 
you will of course keep hidden until after the game 
has been played: 



I 


Mint. 


2 


Tansy. 


3 


Dandelion. 


4 


Sage. 


5 


Goldenrod. 


6 


Sumach (Sue Mack) 


7 


Jack-in-the-pulpit. 


8 


Pitcher-plant. 


9 


Phlox (Flocks). 


10 


Cattail. 


II 


Rosemary. 



Paper Flowers and Toys 179 

12. Thyme. 

13. Scarlet runner. 

14. Buttercup. 

15. Marigold. 

16. Foxglove. 

When the slips have each been pasted on a petal 
the daisy is put together in this way : Take a long, 
stout piece of wire, such as is sold for paper-flower 
stems; put the yellow circles all together, the larger 
ones at the bottom, then the medium ones and the 
smallest on top. Bend one end of the wire into a 
tiny ring and run the other end down through the 
centre of the yellow circles, then through the middle 
of the white circle with the petals on its edge, 
putting a touch of paste between the centre and 
the petals. Now paste a thin layer of cotton bat- 
ting to the lower side of the petal-edged piece, at 
the centre, and run the wire stem through the 
middle of the green calyx, pasting the paper lightly 
to the cotton. Wind the stem with olive-green 
tissue paper cut in strips two inches wide, and 
cut from the same paper some leaves as much as 
possible like the little leaves of a daisy plant. 
The directions for playing this game are given in 
chapter X, 



i8o Child's Rainy Day Book 

How to Make a Country Girl 

Materials Required: A sheet of brown paper, 

A sheet of heavy watercolotir paper, 

6 by 8 inches, 
A pencil, 

A box of watercolour paints, 
Scissors. 

Little country girls are almost always useful, 
and though this one is only made of paper she can 
be useful too. She will serve as a dinner card or 
a penwiper, or even carry court- 
plaster to those who need it. If 
you do not care for any of these 
things you can play with her, 
for she makes a charming paper 
doll. Fig. 85 shows one side of 
the little girl, the other is just 
the same. She is made as fol- 
lows: Cut from brown paper 
the pattern shown in Fig. 86, 
making it six and a half inches 
high by four and three-eighths 
inches broad — at the widest 
point. Take care to mark the dotted lines 
exactly where they are in the picture. It will 
be better to draw the apron, sunbonnet and little 




Fig. 85 



Paper Flowers and Toys 



181 



shoes on the pattern, for then you can copy directly 
from it instead of from the smaller one in the book. 
Lay the pattern on a piece of heavy watercolour 




Fig. 86 



paper and draw around it with a sharp-pointed 
pencil, marking the dotted lines exactly. Next 
the little girl must be cut out. Do this carefully 



I»2 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



with a pair of small, sharp scissors. Bend the paper 
on the dotted lines so that it will look like Fig. 85. 
On all the lines except the one down the front A 

(see Fig, 86) and the 

two marked B the paper 

is bent forward, on 

these two it turns back 

and the flaps on the 

bottom of the shoes are 

turned back. Now for the 

finishing touches. For 

these you will need pen 

and ink and a box of 

watercolour paints. The 

dress, where it peeps 

out beyond the white 

Fig. 87 apron, the bands on the 

sleeves and the dots 

and edge of the sunbonnet, should all be 

painted some pretty colour — pink, red, blue, 

green or yellow — whatever you choose. The 

shoes should be black, and the outlines of 

the apron and pockets, the gathers of the 

sleeves and sunbonnet are all drawn in 

black ink. 

The little girl is now complete unless you wish to 




Paper Flowers and Toys 



183 



have her stand by herself, in which case cut a cir- 
cular piece of cardboard and glue her upon it by 
the flaps on her shoes. If you would like to 




Fig. 88 



make her useful, you can attach two or three 
tiny sheets of courtplaster between her skirts 
or several leaves of flannel, so that she can 
serve as a penwiper. 



1 84 



Child's Rainy Day Book 
A Paper Santa Claus 



Materials Required : The same as for the Country Girl. 

Another delightful little paper person made on 
the plan of the Country Girl is the Santa Claus 
shown in Fig. 87. He makes a charming Christmas 
card to carry greetings or a gift. The pattern (see 




Fig. 89 

Fig. 88) is made five and one-eighth inches high by 
five and a quarter inches wide, of brow^n paper, in 
the same way as the pattern of the country girl. 
Santa Claus is also cut from watercolour paper and 
bent according to the dotted lines. The colouring 
should be red and white, of course, with a green 
holly wreath. It would not do to forget the Saint's 



Paper Flowers and Toys 



i8S 



pack, which is cut from the pattern shown in Fig. 89. 

It is painted brown, with gaily coloured toys — 

dolls, drums and Noah's 

arks — ^peeping out at the 

top. Paste it between 

the two sides of Santa 

Claus near his shoulders. 

A Seashore Boy 

Materials The same as for 
Required : the Country Girl. 

As a companion for 
the Country Girl you can 
make, if you like, a Sea- 
shore Boy (see Fig. 90) in 
just the same way. The 
pattern given in Fig. 91 
shows where the paper is 
to be folded. From all 
the folds the paper should 

bend backward except on the lines marked A, from 
these it bends forward. The colouring should be 
mostly blue and white. The great sun hat will be 
straw coloured, of course, with a blue band. His 
short socks are of white, with brown legs showing 




Fig. 90 



i86 CJiild's Rainy Day Book 

above them, and his suit should be blue, or a white 
one with a blue tie. The pail may be painted red. 

A Valentine Favour 

Materials Required : A piece of watcrcolour paper a foot 

square, 
A box of watercolour paints, 
A strip of scarlet china silk 5 inches 

wide by h yard long, 
A yard of scarlet baby ribbon, 
A spool of scarlet sewing silk, 
A bodkin, 
A tube of paste, 
Scissors. 

A boy or girl with deft fingers can make the most 
attractive little valentine favour imaginable in a 
short time and at very slight expense. It is a 
double heart of watercolour paper, painted scarlet 
and with a silk puff of the same colour drawn up at 
the top, making a bag for bonbons. 

The heart is perhaps the most difhcult part, but a 
child who has learned in kindergarten to weave with 
paper will be able to do it without much trouble. 
Cut from watercolour paper two pieces in the shape 
shown in Fig. 92. The paper should be doubled and 
the fold laid against the straight edge at the bot- 
tom of the pattern. The size does not matter 



Paper Flowers and Toys 



187 



very much, though if the heart is to hold anything 
the pieces should measure four inches and a quarter 
from the doubled edge to the top of the rounded 

end and two and 
five-eighths 
inches across. 
Rule with pencil 
a light line across 
each piece at two 
and five-eighths 
inches from the 
straight end. Five 
lines are also 
ruled in the other 
direction, the first 
one seven- 
sixteenths of an 
inch from one 
side of each piece 
of paper and the 
others the same 
distance apart 
(see Fig. 92). Cut 
along these lines 
with sharp, strong scissors from the double straight 
edge to the ruled line near the top of each piece. 




Fig. 91 



ss 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



The lower part of both pieces will thus be cut into 
doubled strips. Now take a piece in each hand, 
rounded end down, and weave the lower strip of 
the piece in your right hand through the strips in 





Fig. 92 



Fig. 93 



the left-hand piece. As the strips are double, the 
weaving must be done rather differently than with 
single strips of paper. The strip with which you 
are weaving goes around the first strip in the left- 
hand piece, through the next one, around the next, 
and so on (see Fig. 93). When it comes to 
the , end it is pushed down a little way and the 
next strip on the right is woven above it, only 
that this one passes through the strips that 
the first one passed around, and around those 
that the first one passed through. Weave 
one after another until all six of the strips 
in the right-hand piece are woven in with 



Paper Flowers and Toys 



189 



those on the left — when it should open to form a 
heart-shaped bag, as shown in Fig. 94. 

Colour the heart on both sides with vermilion 
watercolour paint and it will then be ready for 
the silk top. 
Cut from scarlet 
China silk a 
strip five inches 
wide by half a 
yard long. Sew 
the ends to- 
gether, hem the 
top and make a 
casing for the 
ribbon draw- 
string, as de- 
scribed in the 
directions for 
the beaded silk 
bag in chapter 
V. The lower 

edge is gathered to fit the inside of the top of 
the heart and pasted into it on a straight line, 
running just below the openings, around both 
sides of the heart. If the paste is not very 
sticky you may need to take a tiny stitch 




Fig. 94 



190 child's Rainy Day Book 

here and there with scarlet sewing silk, tacking 
the silk top more securely to the heart. It will 
then be ready to line with a lace paper doily or 
some waxed paper, and fill with bonbons. 

A Frog Jumping Jack 

Materials Required : A small sheet of 4-ply bristol board, 
A box of watercolour paints, 
A ball of fine white string, 
Pen and ink, 
A pair of sharp scissors, 
A large, sharp-pointed worsted 
needle. 

There is a funny frog jumping jack that you can 
make if you like some cheerless, rainy day. He 
brings smiles wherever he goes. 

Take a sheet of heavy four-ply bristol board and 
draw upon it the pieces shown in Figs. 95, 96, 97 
and 98 — the frog's head and body, legs and one arm. 
Make them as large as you can. The head and 
body together should measure eight inches high 
by seven wide, from the right side to the end of the 
mandolin on the left. The legs should be about 
six and a half inches long and the right arm should 
of course be the size of the left, which is drawn on 
the same piece as the body. Colour the body, 



Paper Flowers and Toys 



191 



throat and legs pale yellow with watercolour paint ; 
the upper part of the head, the arms and the outer 
edges of the body and legs are first painted light 
green and then marked with irregular spots and 
dashes of medium and dark bluish green. A red 




Fig. 95 



ribbon with a Maltese cross of the same colour is 
painted around his neck, and the mandolin he holds 
is white above and black underneath. The eyes 
should be dark green with very large whites, and 
the smiling mouth red, of course. The strings of 
the mandolin are drawn with pen and ink, as are 



192 



ChikVs Rainy Day Book 




Fig. 96 



the outlines of the whites of the eyes, the hands 
and feet. Now Mr. Frog must be put together. 
Tie a knot in a piece of fine white string and thread 

the other end through 
a large worsted needle. 
Run the needle through 
the frog's body at the 
lower right side (where 
you see the dot on Fig. 
95), leaving the knot in 
front, pass it through 
the right leg about half 
an inch from the top and fasten it with a knot 
at the back. The other leg is attached in the 
same way, and the right arm is placed in 
position and fastened to the body as the legs were. 
A knot is then made in a piece of white cord and 
the end is brought through the right arm (leaving 
the knot in front) about three-quarters of an inch 
below where it is fastened to the body, and near the 
outer edge of the arm. The end of the string is 
brought down at the back of the frog, quite 
loosely, to the upper part of the right leg, 
where it passes through and is tied to the part 
of the string that comes from the arm (see Fig. 99). 
It is then brought across to the top of the left leg, 



Paper Flozvers and Toys 



193 



where it is tied. A separate string fifteen inches 
long is attached to the centre of the piece, which 
passes from one leg to the other (this is the one 





Fig. 97 



Fig. 98 



that is pulled to make him jump), and a vShort loop 
of string is fastened at the top of his head by which 
to hold him. When the long string is pulled Mr. 
Frog will dance and play the mandolin. 

Paper Flowers 



Have you ever made paper flowers? If not, you 
have probably seen them made by the cardboard 



194 



CkiliVs Rainy Day Book 



patterns which dealers in tissue paper sell. How 
about making the patterns yourself — for the pop- 
pies, daisies and tulips 
and all the other flowers. 
It will be an interesting 
thing to do and not 
difficult. Catch one of 
the poppy petals as it 
floats off from the flower, 
blown by a summer 
breeze. Notice that 
there are only four 
petals (if it is a single 
poppy), the two smaller 
ones setting across the 
larger pair below. Pop- 
pies are charming and 
much simpler than other 
flowers to copy in paper. 
You may have noticed that the petals of the real 
ones look almost exactly like silky, crinkled paper. 
Draw an outline of the petal a little larger than life 
on heavy brown paper. Fold the paper back at 
the base of the petal and cut it out in the two 
thicknesses so that it will look like Fig. loo. The 
two lower petals will be cut in the same way but 




Fig. 99 



Paper Flowers and Toys 



195 



larger. You now have a pattern for as many 
p*oppies as you choose. They can be made in 

various colours — white, 
red, pink, pink and white 
and yellow. You can 
buy poppy centres ready 
to use, or if you prefer you 
can make them yourself 
in this 
way: For 
a poppy 
four and a 
half inches 
across, cut 
a circle of 




Fig. 100 



yellow paper an inch and a quarter 
in diameter. Fringe the edge about 
half an inch. Next take a wire 
stem, bend the end into a small 
circle, cover it with a tiny ball of 
cotton batting and over this a 
piece of olive-green tissue paper, 
forming it to look as much as pos- 
sible like the real poppy centre (see 
Fig. loi). Wind the edges of the paper close 
around the wire stem. Now run the other end 




Fig. ioi 



196 Child's Rainy Day Book 

of the stem down through the yellow circle, 
brushing it with paste to attach it to the 
green part of the centre. Slip the smaller 
pair of petals on the stem, then the larger 
pair (with a little paste between), so that 
the smaller pair will set directly across the 
larger. This completes the poppy. The stem 
is wound with strips of olive-green tissue 
paper, and the leaves are cut from the same 
paper by a pattern which you can easily 
make by laying a poppy leaf on a sheet of 
cardboard and drawing around it with a sharp- 
pointed pencil. 

Ox-Eyed Daisies 



Materials Required : i or more sheets of deep- yellow tissue 

paper, 
A sheet of olive-green tissue paper, 
A ball of dark-brown worsted, 
Several wire stems, 
A tube of paste, 
Scissors. 



Ox-eyed daisies are easily fashioned and look so 
like the real ones that they are as satisfactory as 
any paper flowers you can make. Take four thick- 
nesses of deep-yellow tissue paper. Bend the 



Paper Flowers and Toys 197 

corner over diagonally and cut a square four 
by four inches. Next fold the paper in 
the same way as for the petals described 
in the Daisy Game in this chapter. Mark 
on the top of the last fold a petal, as shown 
in Fig. 83, and cut it out through all the 
thicknesses. After it is unfolded you may 
have to cut some of the petals up nearer 
to the centre. Wind some brown worsted 
around your thumb about twenty times, take 
it off and run through it the end of . a wire 
stem which has been bent into a tiny crook. 
Tie the worsted centre just above the wire 
with a short piece of worsted, or bind it 
with fine wire, and cut the loops at the 
top. Now run the other end of the stem down 
through the centre of the petals. Make a green 
calyx like the one for the white daisy but much 
smaller, not over an inch across. Wind the 
stem with strips of olive-green tissue paper, 
laying in every now and then a daisy leaf cut 
from the same dark-green paper. Other single 
flowers can be as easily made as this, and 
you will find that the patterns will not be 
difficult to make if you take the natural flowers 
for your models. 



:qS 



ChihVs Rainy Day Book 



A Curled ChrvSiUithonioii 



Materials Required : Sovoral shoots of pink or \ ollow tissue 

papor it\ a lit^ht ai\d modiuii'i shade, 

Sovoral shoots oi olivo-grooii tissue 
papor. 

A small piooe oi cardboard, 

Soino wiro stems, 

A tube of paste, 

Scissors. 

Chrvsatithomuius arc ainoui^ tbo most natural 
of paper tlowors. and fascinating to make. White 
ones are prettv. and those that are made of shades 
ol" pink or vellow are even more attraetive. Cut 
the pattern shown in Fig. 102 
from eardboard and lay it on 
three thiekncsses of medium 
yellow tissue paper, seven and a 
half inehes square, which have 
been folded diagonally three 
times. Hold the pattern firmly 
upon it and eut it out earefully. 
Then in the same way eut two thieknesses of light- 
yellow paper into petals. A piece of olive-green 
tissue paper is folded into a smaller square and 
cut in the same way. to make a calyx. To curl 
the petals, put a small sofa cushion on your knee, 
lay a petal upon it, and, taking a common hatpin 




Fic. 10. 




Making a chrysanthernurn 



Paper Flowers and Toys 199 

with a smooth, round head, press it upon the end 
of each petal up to the centre. This will curl it 
as if by magic. Do another and another till the 
whole piece is finished. Then curl a second piece 
and a third in the same way. When they are all 
done bend a long wire stem at one end and run the 
other end through the centre of the petal-edged 
pieces, which should be laid one above the other, 
the darker ones on top. Put a touch of paste 
between them, slip on the green calyx, wind 
the stem with strips of green tissue paper, laying 
in a chrysanthemum leaf from time to time, and 
the flower is complete. 



Games for Two or Three to Play 



CHAPTER X 

GAMES FOR TWO OR THREE TO PLAY 

On stormy days the children of a family are 
likely to be alone — unless they are so fortunate 
as to have a little visitor in the house, or a friend 
who lives near wraps up and comes to play with 
them. A child who is alone can read, or find in 
the other chapters of this book some absorbing 
occupation ; for a party of children there are always 
plenty of games, but it is sometimes difficult to 
think of a game that two or three will enjoy. The 
following are a few suggestions for such an emer- 
gency : 

Picture Puzzles 

Materials Required! As many pieces of cardboard about 

6 by 8 inches as there are children, 
As many pairs of scissors as there are 

children, 
One or more tubes of paste, 
Several old magazines. 

There is such a fascination about cutting and 

pasting that a game like this is one of the best you 

203 



204 Child's Rainy Day Book 

can choose for a dull day. Each child has an old 
magazine, a piece of cardboard and a pair of scissors, 
while tubes of paste lie conveniently near. When 
the children are seated around a table the game 
begins. It is ])laye(l in this way: Each player 
cuts from his magazine a picture (which must be 
smaller than his card), pastes it upon his ])iece of 
cardboard, and when it is dry and firm cuts it in 
pieces with six straight cuts of the scissors, so as 
to make a puzzle. lie Xhvn mixes the pieces and 
passes them to his neighl)our on the right. At a 
given signal each child tries to i)ut the puzzle which 
he has received together as quickly as possible. 
The one who fmishes first calls out that he is 
through, and he is of course the winner. 

As a sequel the children will enjoy colouring the 
puzzles. If they are pretty and neatly made they 
may be given to a child's hospital, to amuse some 
other little children in the long days of convales- 
cence. 

How to Play iJic Daisy Came 

This is a good guessing game for two or more 
children to play, and if you will follow the directions 
given in chapter IX. you will find that it can be 
made quite easily. None of the players should 



h.'ivc S('(Mi llic k('\', or .'iiisvvcr;; lo llic coiMiiKliiim, 
l»iil il N'on liiid I li.il. (Ii('\' Ii.'ivt' seen il, yoii c.-m vvi il(^ 
oil I lie slip;: ot p.'iixT, iiislc'id ol (lie coiiuiKlni iiis, 
{\\v ii.iincs ol Mowers willi I lie Idler;; mixed lor 
ex.iiiipK", :;;ip\ii, lor p.iiisy. lO.ieli eliild in liiin 
l)iill;; ;i pelal from I lie d;ii;;\' :iiid I lie;; lo j;iie;;;; I lie 
ii;ime ol I lie llovv<-r, vvliieli i;; I lie ;iii;;vver lo I lie 
eoiiiiiidnim vvrillcii on llie tinder ;;ide ol llie |)el;il. 
l*'ive minnlcs is llie lime .'illovve(l, ;ind il llie 
j)l.'iyer li.'i;; nol );iie;;;;e(| I he Mower in lli.il. lime lie 
imi;;l, |).'i;;;; llie |)et;il lo'llie eliild on In;; lelt , who 
.'il;;o li.'is live iniimlc;; in wliieli lo inie;;;; it. II \\r, 
gUCiSSC^S eori'eelly llie |)el;il Ix-loiir;; lo liini, ;iiid 
nl, llie end of llie );.'ime llie |)I;i\'er li.iviii); llie nio;;l, 
j)c^t;Ms li.'is won. 

Jl(>l\SL\s in lilt' Sldh/r 

Materials Required: A p.ii-.lclxi.iid ;.li(»<- Ixix, 
Some 111.11 lilc;;, 
Pen nnd ink, 
S<i:;:.<ir:;. 

Alllionjdi Mii;; j;;iiiie i;; |»l;iyed willi ni.irl »1<':;, 
}drl;; ;i;; well ;r;; l)oy;; will eii)oy il , .'iimI iI. i;; ;;o e.'i;;ily 
|)re|);ir<'(| l,li;il, il, <;in l><' |)l;iyed ;il, ;;lioil. noliee. 
T.'ike .'I loll}' |);i;;l('l )o;ird hox ;i :;lioe l)ox i:; .'ihoiit, 
the right size. Remove the cover and turn it 



2o6 



Child's Rainy Day Book 



upside down. Now, starting at the lower edge, 
draw five doorways, like those shown in Fig. 103. 
The one in the centre should be an inch across and 
an inch and a half high, the two on each side of it 
an inch and a half wide and two inches high, and 




Fig. 103 



the outer ones each two inches wide and two and 
a half inches high. Cut out these doorways with 
a sharp, strong pair of scissors and mark over the 
middle one in pen and ink the number 25. The 
two on either side of it have marked above them 10, 
and the other two each have 5. Stand the box, 
or stable, thus prepared, against the wall and place 
a mark four feet from it. Each player has three 
marbles, and in turn tries to roll or shoot them 
from the mark through the little doors into the box. 
If he succeeds in putting one through the smallest 
door he makes twenty-five ; if through either of the 



Games for Two or Three to Play 207 

other doors his score is increased by the number 
marked above it. There should be a time limit 
for the game — half an hour, for example. The 
score of each player, which is kept on a sheet of 
paper, is added at the end of that time and the one 
having the most points has won the game. 

Plants and Flowers 

Materials Required : As many pencils and sheets of paper 

as players, 
A large sheet of cardboard 
Some seed catalogues, 
Pen and ink, 
A tube of paste. 
Scissors. 

Although a number of children can play this 
game, two or three will enjoy it quite as well. 
Any boy or girl can make it. You will need first 
of all a number of seed catalogues. Cut from these 
eighteen or twenty pictures of flowers and plants, 
taking care not to leave the names on them. Write 
in pencil, on the back of each, a number (any one 
from I to 18) and the name — this is for your own 
guidance later on. Now make a list of the flowers 
and plants, each with its number before it. This 
is the key, to be put away till after the game is 
played. Take a large sheet of cardboard, about 
twenty by twenty-four inches, and paste upon it 



2oS Child's Rainy Day Book 

the flowers and plants in the order of their num- 
bers, marking the number of each clearly in pen 
and ink underneath it. If you like you can colour 
the pictures — this will make the game more attrac- 
tive, of course, and as you can use it many times 
it is worth while. A loop of string, by which to 
hang it, should be run through the top of the card 
at the centre. When you are ready to play the 
game hang the cardboard sheet where all can see it ; 
give each player a pencil and a piece of paper, on 
the left side of which numbers from i to i8 have 
been marked. Each child tries in the time 
allowed — about twenty minutes — to guess the 
names of the flowers and plants on the sheet or 
cardboard, and write each opposite its number on 
his piece of paper. The correct names are then 
read from the key and the players check off their 
guesses. The one who has guessed the greatest 
number correctly is of course the winner. 

A BaU-a)iJ-Fan Race 

Materials Required: 2 Japanese paper balls, 
2 palmleaf fans. 

Two children w^ill find this race an interesting 
one for a rainy day. The best place in which to 
play it is a large room with very little furniture 




A ball and fan race 



Games for Two or Three to Pla 209 

in it — a playroom for example. Each player 
stands at a corner of the room diagonally opposite 
the other, three feet out from the corner, and each 
has a Japanese paper ball in front of him and a 
large fan in his hand. They must face different 
ways and both count together "One, two, three, 
and away!" As they finish counting, the children 
begin to fan their balls around the room, close to 
the wall. There will be some lively skirmishing 
when they meet, as they are likely to do when half 
way around the room. Then each tries to send 
his opponent's ball back and his own forward. 
When each finally gets his ball back to the corner 
where he started, he must try to send it as quickly 
as possible to the middle of the room, where a chair 
is placed. The ball must be fanned through the 
legs of this chair and to the goal of his opponent. 
The player who first accomplishes this is the 
winner 

Fun with Popcorn 

Materials Required: An open fire, 

A corn popper, 
Several ears of popcorn, 
A prize, if desired. 

If the open fire burns brightly in your playroom, 
no matter how gray and bleak the day may be 



2IO Child's Rainy Day Book 

outside, you and your brothers and sisters can 
keep warm and cheerful over this dehghtful game. 
You may provide a prize for the winner, if you like, 
but the only things that are absolutely necessary 
are the fire, some popcorn and a popper. When 
the players are seated in a semicircle around the 
fire they may all help in shelling the corn. After 
this is done, divide the popcorn evenly between 
them, so that each shall have a small quantity. 
The player on the left side of the fireplace now 
takes the corn popper and pops his corn. When 
it is done, the kernels that are fully popped are 
counted, also the unpopped ones, and a record is 
made of each. The next player pops his corn and 
counts the result, and so on until all have finished. 
The child having the largest number of fully popped 
kernels is the winner, and may receive a prize. 
Afterward the winner and the defeated players will 
equally enjoy eating the fluffy popcorn, or if the 
cook is particularly amiable they may be allowed 
to flock to the kitchen and make popcorn balls. 

Express 

Materials Required : 1 2 or 1 5 articles, large and small, 

light and heavy. 

This is a lively game that needs little preparation. 
AH ypu will have to provide is a number of articles, 



Games for Two or Three to Play 211 

toys, pieces of china (not valuable ones), a glass of 
water, some very small things and one or more 
large ones, something heavy like a dumb-bell or 
flatiron and something light — a palmleaf fan, for 
example. When you have them all collected, on a 
table or stand on one side of the room where the 
game is to be played, place another table or stand 
across the room. Then you must have a clock or 
a watch, and that is all — except the players. 
Each child in turn takes one thing at a time, from 
the stand where the various articles are piled, and 
carries it to the table at the opposite side of the 
room. It is done as quickly as possible, for the 
object is to move everything from one place to 
the other in the least possible time. Each 
player is timed and his record kept on a 
piece of paper. If a player drops anything 
he must carry it back to the starting point 
and make another trip with it. The next player 
begins at the table to which the first one 
took the baggage and carries it, in the same 
way, back to the first table. So it goes on 
until everyone has played expressman. The 
player who succeeds in transferring the 
baggage in the shortest time is, of course, the 
winner. 



212 ChikVs Rainy Day Book 

A II II idle Race 

Materials Required: A box of liddleclywiiiks, 

A shoot of whito ouixl board, 
A box of watorot)U)iir paints, 
A ponoil, 

Scissors, 

A l)all of \vhito string, 

Sonio ])ins. 

The next lime you are ke])t indoors by the 
weather, you and a brother or sisler may enjoy a 
hurdle raiw ll is placed willi liddledywink chips 
and i)asteboard hurdU^s on a large table or on the 
floor. You can make the hurdles yourself. They 
should be cut froni cardboard, eight inches wide 
and four inches high. Paint some of them with 
wooden bars and others green — like high hedges. 
In making the hurdU\s, c^ut the cardboard so that 
a strip two inches deej) by an inch across will 
extend below c^aeh lower corner (see Fig. 104). 
One of tlu^sc is bent shari)h' forward at the place 
marked b\- (he (h)tted lines, the other is turned 
back, forming stancks to kec]) the hurdles upright. 

The racecourse ^^■ill Ikivc to be laid out on a 
covered table or carpeted floor, as the tiddledy- 
winks can only be used on a soft, cushiony stirfaee. 
You can make the boundaries with white string, 



Games jor Two or Three to Play 



213 



held in place here and tlicn; willi jiiiis. An oval 
course, thougli more didicnll lo mark is rather 
more exciting than a straight on(^, but cillicr will 
do. Have the course eight inches wide and as long 



1 



E 




Fio. 104 



as you please. Tin; hurdh^s may ])i\ jjlaced wlicre- 
ever you choose, but be sure to have plenty of 
them. 

When you are ready to l)egin, each ])laycr takes 
a large tiddledywink chip .-md a small one of the 
same colour — but different from his (jppcjnent's — 
and at a signal given by a third jjerson, who acts as 
umpire, the race begins. Snap the tiddledywink 
chip just as you d(j in j>hiying the game, only taking 



214 Child's Rainy Day Book 

great care not to send it out of the course, for if it 
goes outside the lines you must set it back three 
inches. The umpire follows the race, of course, 
and settles all disputed questions. 

Pictures from Fairy Tales 

Materials Required : A number of old magazines, 

Twice as many sheets of cardboard 
or heavy brown paper, lo by 12 
inches, as there are children, 
, As many pairs of scissors as there are 
children, 
A tube of paste for each child. 

Two or three children who know and love the old 
fairy tales can spend a delightful hour playing this 
game. Each one should have several old maga- 
zines and a sheet of cardboard, as well as scissors 
and a tube of paste. The leader, who may be one 
of the children or an older person, explains the 
game as follows: Each child is expected to make 
a picture on his sheet of cardboard to illustrate 
some fairy tale. It is not necessary to draw it; 
he can cut from the magazines people and proper- 
ties and scenery and paste them upon the card. 
He must be sure not to tell anyone the story he has 
chosen. At the end of half an hour the pictures 
should be finished. A bell is rung for everyone 



Games for Two or Three to Play 2 1 5 

to stop work and the pictures are placed where all 
can see them. The leader now holds one up 
before the children and asks them what story they 
suppose it illustrates, and what particular part 
of the story. The child who answers first wins the 
picture. The other pictures are held up, one at a 
time, and the children try to see who can guess 
them first. If they are ready for another round of 
the game after this one is finished, they may find 
it amusing to vary it by making pictures from 
"Mother Goose." 



NOV 11 1906 






LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




013 824 153 1 



